--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Close scrutiny of an object in nature…" description: "\"Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.\" — John Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png" --- # Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always… ![“Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.” quote by John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png) > “Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.” [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Careful observation of nature often reveals important insights. **In simple terms:** Observe nature closely. Key Takeaway Observe to learn. Themes observation nature knowledge curiosity Mood curious inquisitive Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - field research - birdwatching - gardening - environmental studies Key Concepts science empiricism Questions to Reflect On - What natural detail have you missed? - How can you improve your observational skills? A Different Perspective Not all observations lead to breakthroughs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Close Scrutiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-scrutiny-981577/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-nearly-981579/) [Object Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/object-nature-981581/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Scrutiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny/) [Scrutiny Object](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrutiny-object-981580/) [Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant/) [Significant Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant-fact-981578/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) ## Related quotes > [Thoughtful criticism and close scrutiny of all government officials by the press and the public are an important part of our democratic society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/thoughtful-criticism-and-close-scrutiny-of-all-government-officials/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [We prefer to find an explanation for why things are not perfect, and these rarely stand up to close scrutiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-campbell/we-prefer-to-find-an-explanation-for-why-things-are-not-perfect-and/) [Charlie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-campbell/) > [Every citizen owes to the country a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its public servants and a fair and reasonable estimate of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/every-citizen-owes-to-the-country-a-vigilant-watch-and-close-scrutiny/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) > [Art is the close scrutiny of reality and therefore I put on the stage only those things that I know happen in our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/art-is-the-close-scrutiny-of-reality-and-therefore-i-put-on-the-stage/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [I didn't pay close enough scrutiny to some of the other things that Louis Farrakhan was saying, that's something I just live and learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/i-didn-t-pay-close-enough-scrutiny-to-some-of-the-other-things-that/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [Close scrutiny will show that most of these everyday socalled “crisis situations” are not life-or-death matters at all, but opportunities to either advance, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/close-scrutiny-will-show-that-most-of-these-everyday-socalled-crisis/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-capacity-for-hope-is-the-most-significant-fact-of-life/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [Human nature is not nearly as bad as it has been thought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/human-nature-is-not-nearly-as-bad-as-it-has-been-thought-to-be/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Every object in nature is impressed with God's footsteps, and every day repeats the wonders of creation. There is not an object, be it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-guthrie/every-object-in-nature-is-impressed-with-god-s-footsteps-and-every/) [Thomas Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-guthrie/) > [By the artist's seizing any one object from nature, that object no longer is part of nature. One can go so far as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/by-the-artist-s-seizing-any-one-object-from-nature-that-object-no/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Joy needs no object; it is our own nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/joy-needs-no-object-it-is-our-own-nature/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [When I’m working with materials it’s not just the leaf or the stone, it’s the processes that are behind them that are important. That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/when-i-m-working-with-materials-it-s-not-just-the-leaf-or-the-stone/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Close scrutiny will show that most 'crisis situations' are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/close-scrutiny-will-show-that-most-crisis-situations-are/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [I would have none of that rigid circumspect charity which is never done without scrutiny, and which always mistrusts the truth of the necessities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-massillon/i-would-have-none-of-that-rigid-circumspect-charity-which-is-never/) [Jean Baptiste Massillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-massillon/) ## More by John Burroughs > [As life nears its end with me, I find myself meditating more and more upon the mystery of its nature and origin, yet without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/as-life-nears-its-end-with-me-i-find-myself-meditating-more-and-more/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Certainly in the United States, you have a constituency in the form of the weapons laboratories, and you also have the branches of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/certainly-in-the-united-states-you-have-a-constituency-in-the-form-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [When Darwin published his conclusion that man was descended from an apelike ancestor who was again descended from a still lower type, most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/when-darwin-published-his-conclusion-that-man-was-descended-from-an/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Science sees the process of evolution from the outside, as one might a train of cars going by, and resolves it into the physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/science-sees-the-process-of-evolution-from-the-outside-as-one-might-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Maybe that will happen with other countries as well. And so, that's why one of the things that groups like mine that work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/maybe-that-will-happen-with-other-countries-as-well-and-so-that-s-why/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [One can only learn his powers of action by action, and his powers of thought by thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/one-can-only-learn-his-powers-of-action-by-action-and-his-powers-of/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [I was born with a chronic anxiety about the weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-was-born-with-a-chronic-anxiety-about-the-weather/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [When the woodpecker is searching for food, or laying siege to some hidden grub, the sound of his hammer is dead or muffled and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/when-the-woodpecker-is-searching-for-food-or-laying-siege-to-some/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [In what bold relief stand out the lives of all walkers of the snow! The snow is a great tell-tale, and blabs as effectually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-what-bold-relief-stand-out-the-lives-of-all-walkers-of-the-snow/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp. Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-october-a-maple-tree-before-your-window-lights-up-your-room-like-a/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [One can return to their place of birth, but one cannot go back to your youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/one-can-return-to-their-place-of-birth-but-one-cannot-go-back-to-your/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [I still find each day too short..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-still-find-each-day-too-short/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [What a severe yet master artist old Winter is... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Following World War II, the U.S. was the architect of the UN system, and the world financial system, and the Human Rights Declaration, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/following-world-war-ii-the-u-s-was-the-architect-of-the-un-system-and/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“Go to the sea or climb the mountain, and with the ruggedest and the savagest you will find likewise the fairest and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/go-to-the-sea-or-climb-the-mountain-and-with-the-ruggedest-and-the/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) [Explore all 281 John Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## More Facts quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that the predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/he-bombarded-me-with-words-of-all-things-apparently-clueless-to-the/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [Le biologiste passe, la grenouille reste. The biologist passes, the frog remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/le-biologiste-passe-la-grenouille-reste-the-biologist-passes-the-frog/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) [Browse all 19,906 Facts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Burroughs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Facts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20f/john-burroughs-1157_facts_close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-wi_1683618.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.” — John Burroughs", "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": "John Burroughs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Close scrutiny of an object in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/#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 } } ] } ```