--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us…" description: "\"To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us. Relax a bit, take time out for simple pleasures. For example, the luxuries of electricity, indoor plumbing, centr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/edward-abbey-254_building_to-the-technocrats-have-mercy-on-us-rela_2949178.png" --- # To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us. Relax a bit, take… ![“To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us. Relax a bit, take time out for simple pleasures. For example, the luxuries of electricity, indoor plumbing, central heating, instant electronic communication and such, have taught me to relearn and enjoy the basic human satisfactions of dipping water from a…” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/edward-abbey-254_building_to-the-technocrats-have-mercy-on-us-rela_2949178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/edward-abbey-254_building_to-the-technocrats-have-mercy-on-us-rela_2949178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/edward-abbey-254_building_to-the-technocrats-have-mercy-on-us-rela_2949178.png) > “To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us. Relax a bit, take time out for simple pleasures. For example, the luxuries of electricity, indoor plumbing, central heating, instant electronic communication and such, have taught me to relearn and enjoy the basic human satisfactions of dipping water from a cold clear mountain stream; of building a wood fire in a cast-iron stove; of using long winter nights for making music, making things, making love; of writing long letters, in longhand with a fountain pen, to the few people on this earth I truly care about.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A plea to modern societies to rediscover basic, tactile pleasures and slow, mindful living amidst technological comforts. **In simple terms:** Modern life should include simple, hands‑on activities. Key Takeaway Balance tech with nature. Themes simplicity nature mindfulness Mood contemplative nostalgic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - camping - hand‑written letters - fire‑making Key Concepts slow living craftsmanship analogue skills Questions to Reflect On - What simple habit can you re‑introduce? - How does unplugging improve wellbeing? A Different Perspective Technology can dominate, making simplicity feel foreign. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Casts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casts/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity/) [Electronic communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electronic-communication/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fountain/) [Fountain pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fountain-pen/) [Fountain pens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fountain-pens/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Instant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instant/) [Iron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iron/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Making love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-love/) [Making Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-music/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Pens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pens/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasures/) [Plumbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plumbing/) [Relax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relax/) [Relearn Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relearn-enjoy-4436475/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Simple pleasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-pleasures/) [Stoves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoves/) [Streams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streams/) [Take time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-time/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) [Winter night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter-night/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Perhaps there are people in this world who love their fountain pens with every fiber of their being—and that's very sad. 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Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/the-upheavals-of-adolescence-silenced-a-christmas-carol-for-a-few/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [The publishers, as I remember at the very beginning of my career, wrote letters with their fountain pens. A letter is different from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/the-publishers-as-i-remember-at-the-very-beginning-of-my-career-wrote/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I get used to my fountain pens and my clothes, and I can never throw them away. I replace them only when I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-get-used-to-my-fountain-pens-and-my-clothes-and-i-can-never-throw/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I write with a fountain pen. 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I get up at seven every morning and, still in my pajamas, sit down at my desk where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-am-a-highly-disciplined-person-i-get-up-at-seven-every-morning-and/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. 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Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. 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It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. 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