---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A continent ages quickly once we come…"
description: "\"A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts down the trees, drains the water, so that ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg"
---

#  A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in…

![“A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts down the trees, drains the water, so that the water supply is altered, and in a short time the soil, once the sod is turned under, is cropped out and, next, it starts to blow away as it has…” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg)

> “A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts down the trees, drains the water, so that the water supply is altered, and in a short time the soil, once the sod is turned under, is cropped out and, next, it starts to blow away as it has blown away in every old country and as I had seen it start to blow in Canada. The earth gets tired of being exploited.”

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human exploitation exhausts ecosystems, leading to rapid environmental decline and loss of balance.

**In simple terms:** Exploitation harms nature quickly.

Key Takeaway

Protect and respect natural environments.

Themes

environment exploitation balance decline

Mood

concerned reflective

Type

observational critical

When to use this quote

- deforestation
- water mismanagement
- soil erosion
- climate change
- urban expansion

Key Concepts

sustainability ecosystem collapse colonial impact

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies balance development with ecological stewardship?
- What policies could prevent resource overuse?

A Different Perspective

Even with awareness, economic pressures often override conservation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Altered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altered/) [Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blow/) [Blown away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blown-away/) [Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canada/) [Canada Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canada-earth-4871105/) [Continent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continent/) [Continent Ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continent-ages-4871104/) [Continents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continents/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Drains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drains/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Gets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-gets-385678/) [Foreigners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Natives Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natives-live-2217886/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Old Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-country/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Short time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-time/) [Sod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sod/) [Soil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soil/) [Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tired/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [Others are keen to see if natives other than us live better than we do, without heat in pipes, ice in boxes, sunshine in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-maillart/others-are-keen-to-see-if-natives-other-than-us-live-better-than-we/)

[Ella Maillart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-maillart/)

> [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/earth-gets-its-price-for-what-earth-gives-us/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler. And I think history points out that it does that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/i-believe-the-earth-gets-warmer-and-i-also-believe-the-earth-gets/)

[Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/)

> [When earth gets good and crowded, like 15th century England, then some new Pilgrims are gonna rocket their Mayflowers to a new solar system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/when-earth-gets-good-and-crowded-like-15th-century-england-then-some/)

[Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/)

> [One thing that I find very unmotivating is the kind of Plan B argument: when Earth gets destroyed, you want to be somewhere else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/one-thing-that-i-find-very-unmotivating-is-the-kind-of-plan-b/)

[Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/)

> [Let's travel at magnificent speeds around the universe What could you say as the Earth gets further and further away Planets are small as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/let-s-travel-at-magnificent-speeds-around-the-universe-what-could-you/)

[Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/)

> [It's the abject smallness of the earth that gets you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-roosa/it-s-the-abject-smallness-of-the-earth-that-gets-you/)

[Stuart Roosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-roosa/)

> [Earth gets its price for what Earth gives us; The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, The priest hath his fee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/earth-gets-its-price-for-what-earth-gives-us-the-beggar-is-taxed-for/)

[James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/)

> [Think'st thou there are no serpents in the world But those who slide along the grassy sod, And sting the luckless foot that presses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-baillie/think-st-thou-there-are-no-serpents-in-the-world-but-those-who-slide/)

[Joanna Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-baillie/)

> [I think part of it has got to be compensation, yes, for the fact that when I was a kid, I wasn't particularly attractive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-michael/i-think-part-of-it-has-got-to-be-compensation-yes-for-the-fact-that/)

[George Michael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-michael/)

> [Malta is a sod of a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-niven/malta-is-a-sod-of-a-place/)

[David Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-niven/)

> [Deryn felt brilliant, rising through the air at the center off everyone's attention, like an acrobat aloft on a swing. She wanted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/deryn-felt-brilliant-rising-through-the-air-at-the-center-off/)

[Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/)

> [My great-grandmother grew up in a sod house in Nebraska. When she was a tiny girl - in other words, only four human generations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/my-great-grandmother-grew-up-in-a-sod-house-in-nebraska-when-she-was/)

[Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/)

> [Warm summer sun, shine kindly here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/warm-summer-sun-shine-kindly-here/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

## More by Ernest Hemingway

> [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

[Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts down the trees, drains the water, so that the water supply is altered, and in a short time the soil, once the sod is turned under, is cropped out and, next, it starts to blow away as it has blown away in every old country and as I had seen it start to blow in Canada. The earth gets tired of being exploited.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Hemingway"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-the-natives-live-in-harmony/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-the-natives-live-in-harmony/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/ernest-hemingway-83_age_a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-th_596544.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A continent ages quickly once we come. The natives live in harmony with it. But the foreigner destroys, cuts…” — Ernest Hemingway",
                "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": "Ernest Hemingway",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A continent ages quickly once we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-the-natives-live-in-harmony/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/a-continent-ages-quickly-once-we-come-the-natives-live-in-harmony/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
