--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Much can they praise the trees so…" description: "\"Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry, The builder oa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg" --- # Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The… ![“Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry, The builder oak, sole king of forests all, The aspin good for staves, the cypress funeral, The laurel, meed of mighty conquerors And poets sage, the fir that…” quote by Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg) > “Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry, The builder oak, sole king of forests all, The aspin good for staves, the cypress funeral, The laurel, meed of mighty conquerors And poets sage, the fir that weepest still, The yew obedient to the bender's will, The birch for shafts, the sallow for the mill, The myrrh sweet-bleeding in the bitter wound, The warlike beech, the ash for nothing ill, The fruitful olive, and the platane round, The carver holm, the maple seldom inward sound.” [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A catalog of tree species, each linked to its practical or symbolic role, illustrating nature’s diverse contributions to human life and culture. **In simple terms:** Trees as resources and symbols. Key Takeaway Nature's utility and symbolism. Themes Nature Utility Symbolism Culture Ecology Mood Reflective Aweful Didactic Type Descriptive Didactic Nature When to use this quote - Forest management - Poetic description - Historical symbolism - Botanical study - Craftsmanship Key Concepts Woodworking Medicine Mythology Agriculture Practical Applications - Educational material on tree uses - Inspiration for eco‑poetry Questions to Reflect On - How do specific trees shape cultural identities? - What does this list reveal about human reliance on nature? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bleeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleeding/) [Builder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/builder/) [Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carver/) [Cedars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cedars/) [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Cypresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cypresses/) [Dry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Funeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funeral/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Inward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inward/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Laurels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laurels/) [Maple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maple/) [Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mills/) [Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oaks/) [Obedient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedient/) [Olives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/olives/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Praise Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise-trees-409105/) [Props](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/props/) [Proud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proud/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sage/) [Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing/) [Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sole/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Staves Cypress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staves-cypress-409107/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Tall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tall/) [Tall trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tall-trees/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-straight-409106/) [Vines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vines/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) [Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yew/) ## Related quotes > [It is a simple matter to plant trees in straight lines, but informal groupings will test the sensitivities of the most experienced planter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-stuart-thomas/it-is-a-simple-matter-to-plant-trees-in-straight-lines-but-informal/) [Graham Stuart Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-stuart-thomas/) > [Strew on her roses, roses, And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes; Ah, would that I did too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/strew-on-her-roses-roses-and-never-a-spray-of-yew-in-quiet-she/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [There are moments when Nature reveals the passion hidden beneath the careless calm of her ordinary moods-violent spring flashing white on almond-blossom through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/there-are-moments-when-nature-reveals-the-passion-hidden-beneath-the/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [My silks and fine array, My smiles and languished air, By love are driv'n away And mournful lean Despair Brings me yew to deck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/my-silks-and-fine-array-my-smiles-and-languished-air-by-love-are-driv/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Jenk shook his head as he headed for the rental car counter. He felt his shoulders tightening as he walked away, certain that Izzy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/jenk-shook-his-head-as-he-headed-for-the-rental-car-counter-he-felt/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [All green was anished sae of pine and yew, That still displayed their melancholy hue; Sae the green holly with its berries red, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-crabbe/all-green-was-anished-sae-of-pine-and-yew-that-still-displayed-their/) [George Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-crabbe/) > [Come away, come away, Death, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath, I am slain by a fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/come-away-come-away-death-and-in-sad-cypress-let-me-be-laid-fly-away/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had a good personal relationship with Lee Kuan Yew and I used him, in the sense, that he... He made a statement in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/i-had-a-good-personal-relationship-with-lee-kuan-yew-and-i-used-him/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [I shall also take you forth and carve our names together in a yew tree, haloed with stars...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/i-shall-also-take-you-forth-and-carve-our-names-together-in-a-yew/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [For there no yew nor cypress spread their glom But roses blossom'd each rustic tomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/for-there-no-yew-nor-cypress-spread-their-glom-but-roses-blossom-d/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) > [Kuan Yew, I can never trust you as a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tunku-abdul-rahman/kuan-yew-i-can-never-trust-you-as-a-politician/) [Tunku Abdul Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tunku-abdul-rahman/) > [Far away beyond the pine-woods,' he answered, in a low dreamy voice, 'there is a little garden. There the grass grows long and deep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/far-away-beyond-the-pine-woods-he-answered-in-a-low-dreamy-voice/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Never did tombs look so ghastly white. Never did cypress, or yew, or juniper so seem the embodiment of funeral gloom. Never did tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/never-did-tombs-look-so-ghastly-white-never-did-cypress-or-yew-or/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [The Pacific Yew can be cut down and processed to produce a potent chemical, taxol, which offers some promise of curing certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/the-pacific-yew-can-be-cut-down-and-processed-to-produce-a-potent/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Reptilian green the wrinkled throat, Green as a bough of yew the beard; He bent his head, and so I smote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvor-winters/reptilian-green-the-wrinkled-throat-green-as-a-bough-of-yew-the-beard/) [Yvor Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvor-winters/) ## More by Edmund Spenser > [“All this world's glory seemeth vain to me, And all their shows but shadows, saving she.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/all-this-world-s-glory-seemeth-vain-to-me-and-all-their-shows-but/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [The merry cuckow, messenger of Spring, His trumpet shrill hath thrice already sounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/the-merry-cuckow-messenger-of-spring-his-trumpet-shrill-hath-thrice/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [All flesh doth frailty breed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/all-flesh-doth-frailty-breed/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“The whiles some one did chaunt this louely lay; Ah see, who so faire thing doest faine to see, In springing flowre the image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/the-whiles-some-one-did-chaunt-this-louely-lay-ah-see-who-so-faire/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Fretting grief the enemy of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/fretting-grief-the-enemy-of-life/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Make haste therefore, sweet love, whilst it is prime, For none can call again the passed time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/make-haste-therefore-sweet-love-whilst-it-is-prime-for-none-can-call/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [In one consort there sat cruel revenge and rancorous despite, disloyal treason and heart-burning hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/in-one-consort-there-sat-cruel-revenge-and-rancorous-despite-disloyal/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Good is no good, but if it be spend, God giveth good for none other end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/good-is-no-good-but-if-it-be-spend-god-giveth-good-for-none-other-end/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“There is nothing lost, but may be found, if sought. (No hay nada perdido, que no pueda encontrarse, si se lo busca)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/there-is-nothing-lost-but-may-be-found-if-sought-no-hay-nada-perdido/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“It is the mynd, that maketh good or ill, That maketh wretch or happie, rich or poore: For some, that hath abundance at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/it-is-the-mynd-that-maketh-good-or-ill-that-maketh-wretch-or-happie/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Sweet breathing Zephyrus did softly play, A gentle spirit, that lightly did delay Hot Titan's beams, which then did glister fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/sweet-breathing-zephyrus-did-softly-play-a-gentle-spirit-that-lightly/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [I was promised on a time To have reason for my rhyme; From that time unto this season, I received nor rhyme nor reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/i-was-promised-on-a-time-to-have-reason-for-my-rhyme-from-that-time/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“For love is a celestial harmony Of likely hearts compos'd of stars' concent, Which join together in sweet sympathy, To work each other's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/for-love-is-a-celestial-harmony-of-likely-hearts-compos-d-of-stars/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Sleep after toil, port after stormy seas, Ease after war, death after life does greatly please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/sleep-after-toil-port-after-stormy-seas-ease-after-war-death-after/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [What though the sea with waves continuall Doe eate the earth, it is no more at all ; Ne is the earth the lesse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/what-though-the-sea-with-waves-continuall-doe-eate-the-earth-it-is-no/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) [Explore all 186 Edmund Spenser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) ## More Ashes quotes > [You can flush my ashes down the toilet, for all I care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-flush-my-ashes-down-the-toilet-for-all-i-care/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-gold-does-not-glitter-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't want to have a gravestone. I want to have all my friends burn me and then snort the ashes. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-don-t-want-to-have-a-gravestone-i-want-to-have-all-my-friends-burn/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [He said that he will never let you cry,he will always be there for you no matter how hard the situation is,that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhra/he-said-that-he-will-never-let-you-cry-he-will-always-be-there-for/) [Zhra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhra/) > [“The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-past-is-to-be-learned-from-but-not-lived-in-we-look-back-to-claim/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [When any civilization is dust and ashes," he said, "art is all that's left over. Images, words, music. Imaginative structures. Meaning—human meaning, that is—is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-any-civilization-is-dust-and-ashes-he-said-art-is-all-that-s/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Man is a noble animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/man-is-a-noble-animal-splendid-in-ashes-and-pompous-in-the-grave/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [There is nothing quite like an Ashes trip Down Under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anderson/there-is-nothing-quite-like-an-ashes-trip-down-under/) [James Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anderson/) > [I think momentum is huge in sport, especially in a series like the Ashes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stokes/i-think-momentum-is-huge-in-sport-especially-in-a-series-like-the/) [Ben Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stokes/) > [Mark how fleeting and paltry is the estate of man-yesterday in embryo, tomorrow a mummy or ashes. So for the hairsbreadth of time assigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/mark-how-fleeting-and-paltry-is-the-estate-of-man-yesterday-in-embryo/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“When you burn a bridge, you have to be prepared to live with some ashes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-coppernoll/when-you-burn-a-bridge-you-have-to-be-prepared-to-live-with-some-ashes/) [Chris Coppernoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-coppernoll/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge fire; the ashes from it drift far, and settle slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-wasn-t-so-easy-though-ending-the-war-a-war-is-a-huge-fire-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Browse all 900 Ashes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry, The builder oak, sole king of forests all, The aspin good for staves, the cypress funeral, The laurel, meed of mighty conquerors And poets sage, the fir that weepest still, The yew obedient to the bender's will, The birch for shafts, the sallow for the mill, The myrrh sweet-bleeding in the bitter wound, The warlike beech, the ash for nothing ill, The fruitful olive, and the platane round, The carver holm, the maple seldom inward sound.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Spenser" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f0/edmund-spenser-2090_ashes_much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straig_25059.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The…” — Edmund Spenser", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edmund Spenser", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Much can they praise the trees...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```