--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: they climbed their ladders to wheedle and…" description: "\"“they climbed their ladders to wheedle and prune the trees into holiness”\" — Catherynne M. Valente" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/catherynne-m-valente-375_holiness_they-climbed-their-ladders-to-wheedle-an_217956.png" --- # they climbed their ladders to wheedle and prune the trees… ![“they climbed their ladders to wheedle and prune the trees into holiness” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/catherynne-m-valente-375_holiness_they-climbed-their-ladders-to-wheedle-an_217956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/catherynne-m-valente-375_holiness_they-climbed-their-ladders-to-wheedle-an_217956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/catherynne-m-valente-375_holiness_they-climbed-their-ladders-to-wheedle-an_217956.png) > ““they climbed their ladders to wheedle and prune the trees into holiness”” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that humans shape nature into something sacred through careful, almost obsessive manipulation. **In simple terms:** People try to make nature holy by controlling it. Key Takeaway Respect natural limits, avoid over‑controlling. Themes nature control spirituality Mood contemplative critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - urban planning - conservation - artistic creation Key Concepts environmental ethics human hubris Questions to Reflect On - Do we lose authenticity when we force sacredness? - Can stewardship be gentle? A Different Perspective Over‑control can destroy the very holiness sought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climbed Ladders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climbed-ladders-2232958/) [Holiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiness/) [Ladders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladders/) [Ladders Wheedle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladders-wheedle-2232959/) [Pruning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pruning/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Holiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-holiness-2232957/) [Wheedle Prune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheedle-prune-2232960/) ## Related quotes > [The regenerated do not go to war, nor engage in strife. 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Songs are like plants, in that you grow them. Some grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-harris/don-t-be-afraid-to-write-bad-songs-and-then-start-over-and-re/) [Corey Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-harris/) > [“complicated pruning techniques. In reality, roses are no more difficult to grow than any other shrub or flower. 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Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. 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She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Holiness quotes > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [“The HOLY of Holiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-holy-of-holiness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I put no stock in religion. By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Not simply the righteousness of our Saviour, not simply the beauty of His holiness or the graces of His character, are we to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adoniram-judson-gordon/not-simply-the-righteousness-of-our-saviour-not-simply-the-beauty-of/) [Adoniram Judson Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adoniram-judson-gordon/) > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“Mother Teresa, when asked about her holiness or saintliness, always answers in a matter-of-fact way that holiness is a necessity of life--and explains that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-vardey/mother-teresa-when-asked-about-her-holiness-or-saintliness-always/) [Lucinda Vardey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-vardey/) > [Holy persons draw to themselves all that is earthly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hildegard-of-bingen/holy-persons-draw-to-themselves-all-that-is-earthly/) [Hildegard of Bingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hildegard-of-bingen/) > [What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/what-is-sin-it-is-the-glory-of-god-not-honored-the-holiness-of-god/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“I believe that people are holy because they’re made in the image of God, and a place can be holy when God is present—but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-brock/i-believe-that-people-are-holy-because-they-re-made-in-the-image-of/) [Jared Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-brock/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If my holiness is not drawing towards Him, it is not holiness of the right order, but an influence that will awaken inordinate affection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-holiness-is-not-drawing-towards-him-it-is-not-holiness-of-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The holiness of the church means that life, as well as truth, marks Christ’s church; the behavior of Christians in the world must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clowney/the-holiness-of-the-church-means-that-life-as-well-as-truth-marks/) [Edmund Clowney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clowney/) [Browse all 1,018 Holiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“they climbed their ladders to wheedle and prune the trees into holiness”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherynne M. 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