--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still…" description: "\"“Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still talking about butterflies. He said he had raised them from time to time and had often watched them emerge from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/john-mcphee-11840_time_now-at-suiattle-pass-brower-was-still-ta_1981849.jpg" --- # Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still talking about… ![“Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still talking about butterflies. He said he had raised them from time to time and had often watched them emerge from the chrysalis--first a crack in the case, then a feeler, and in an hour a butterfly. He said he had felt that he wanted to help, to speed them…” quote by John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/john-mcphee-11840_time_now-at-suiattle-pass-brower-was-still-ta_1981849.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/john-mcphee-11840_time_now-at-suiattle-pass-brower-was-still-ta_1981849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/john-mcphee-11840_time_now-at-suiattle-pass-brower-was-still-ta_1981849.jpg) > ““Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still talking about butterflies. He said he had raised them from time to time and had often watched them emerge from the chrysalis--first a crack in the case, then a feeler, and in an hour a butterfly. He said he had felt that he wanted to help, to speed them through the long and awkward procedure; and he had once tried. The butterflies came out with extended abdomens, and their wings were balled together like miniature clenched fists. Nothing happened. They sat there until they died. 'I have never gotten over that,' he said. 'That kind of information is all over in the country, but it's not in town.”” [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to accelerate natural processes without understanding can cause harm; patience respects natural timing. **In simple terms:** Rushing nature can damage it. Key Takeaway Respect natural development. Themes patience nature intervention Mood reflective cautionary Type inspirational environmental When to use this quote - conservation projects - education - personal development Key Concepts ecology growth cycles Questions to Reflect On - What processes need patience? - How do we balance help with natural order? A Different Perspective Speeding up may produce malformed outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butterflies Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies-came-2503282/) [Butterflies Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies-said-1541583/) [Butterfly Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly-said-3388112/) [Talking Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking-butterflies-3388111/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tried Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried-butterflies-3388113/) ## Related quotes > [“Shit. Next I’ll hold her hand and start talking about butterflies and rainbows. Fuck me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/shit-next-i-ll-hold-her-hand-and-start-talking-about-butterflies-and/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Butterfly?" Will said. "Why Butterfly?" "I believe it's a term of great respect," Selethen said gravely. 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Sorry as hell they ever landed here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-million-dead-butterflies-she-said-sorry-as-hell-they-ever-landed/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can't picture someone thinking about me before they fall asleep. I can't picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-really-can-t-picture-anyone-having-a-crush-on-me-i-can-t-picture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. 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Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) ## More by John McPhee > [“For nonfiction projects, ideas are everywhere. They just go by in a ceaseless stream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/for-nonfiction-projects-ideas-are-everywhere-they-just-go-by-in-a/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [In making war with nature, there was risk of loss in winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/in-making-war-with-nature-there-was-risk-of-loss-in-winning/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“I’d much rather watch people do what they do than talk to them across a desk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/i-d-much-rather-watch-people-do-what-they-do-than-talk-to-them-across/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [I used to sit in class and listen to the terms come floating down the room like paper airplanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/i-used-to-sit-in-class-and-listen-to-the-terms-come-floating-down-the/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“A lead is good not because it dances, fires cannons, or whistles like a train but because it is absolute to what follows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/a-lead-is-good-not-because-it-dances-fires-cannons-or-whistles-like-a/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“If basketball was going to enable Bradley to make friends, to prove that a banker's son is as good as the next fellow, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/if-basketball-was-going-to-enable-bradley-to-make-friends-to-prove/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“Since most callers have until moments before been completely unaware that there are bears in New Jersey, there is often in their voices a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/since-most-callers-have-until-moments-before-been-completely-unaware/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“Incandescent carbon particles, by the tens of millions, leap free of the log and wave like banners, as flame. Several hundred significantly different chemical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/incandescent-carbon-particles-by-the-tens-of-millions-leap-free-of/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“If you have to ask that question, you wouldn't understand the answer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/if-you-have-to-ask-that-question-you-wouldn-t-understand-the-answer/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [Almost all Americans would recognize Anchorage, because Anchorage is that part of any city where the city has burst its seams and extruded Colonel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/almost-all-americans-would-recognize-anchorage-because-anchorage-is/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“The doctor listens in with a stethoscope and hears sounds of a warpath Indian drum. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/the-doctor-listens-in-with-a-stethoscope-and-hears-sounds-of-a/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [On a certain scale, it does look like I do a lot. But that’s my day, all day long, sitting there wondering when I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/on-a-certain-scale-it-does-look-like-i-do-a-lot-but-that-s-my-day-all/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [“There is no Weatherfax map on the Stella Lykes—only the barometer, the barographs, the teletypes from NOAA. The radar can see a storm, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/there-is-no-weatherfax-map-on-the-stella-lykes-only-the-barometer-the/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [He (Dave Brower) is an emotionalist in an age of dangerous reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/he-dave-brower-is-an-emotionalist-in-an-age-of-dangerous-reason/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [Taking things from one source is plagiarism; taking things from several sources is research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/taking-things-from-one-source-is-plagiarism-taking-things-from/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) [Explore all 57 John McPhee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) ## More Time quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. 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So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. 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People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) [Browse all 215,255 Time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now, at Suiattle Pass, Brower was still talking about butterflies. He said he had raised them from time to time and had often watched them emerge from the chrysalis--first a crack in the case, then a feeler, and in an hour a butterfly. He said he had felt that he wanted to help, to speed them through the long and awkward procedure; and he had once tried. The butterflies came out with extended abdomens, and their wings were balled together like miniature clenched fists. Nothing happened. They sat there until they died. 'I have never gotten over that,' he said. 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