--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They tell us that plants are not like man…" description: "\"They tell us that plants are not like man immortal, but are perishable-soul -less. I think that is something that we know exactly nothing about.\" — Joh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/john-muir-678_immortal_they-tell-us-that-plants-are-not-like-ma_587107.png" --- # They tell us that plants are not like man immortal, but… ![“They tell us that plants are not like man immortal, but are perishable-soul -less. I think that is something that we know exactly nothing about.” quote by John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/john-muir-678_immortal_they-tell-us-that-plants-are-not-like-ma_587107.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/john-muir-678_immortal_they-tell-us-that-plants-are-not-like-ma_587107.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7b/john-muir-678_immortal_they-tell-us-that-plants-are-not-like-ma_587107.png) > “They tell us that plants are not like man immortal, but are perishable-soul -less. I think that is something that we know exactly nothing about.” [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We assume plants lack souls because we cannot grasp their inner life, revealing limits of human knowledge. **In simple terms:** We don’t truly know plant consciousness. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the unknown in nature. Themes nature humility knowledge ecology Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical environmental When to use this quote - gardening - conservation policy - science education Key Concepts anthropocentrism unknown consciousness environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do we make about non‑human life? - How can humility change our environmental actions? A Different Perspective Plants may have forms of awareness we cannot measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Plants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plants/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I'm in the woods so much I can tell you which plants are edible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-trevino/i-m-in-the-woods-so-much-i-can-tell-you-which-plants-are-edible/) [Lee Trevino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-trevino/) > [CO2 is a pollutant? Tell that to the plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/co2-is-a-pollutant-tell-that-to-the-plants/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [“Certain plants, like certain friends, you enjoy having for a visit but do not care to see remain forever and a day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-sherman-adams/certain-plants-like-certain-friends-you-enjoy-having-for-a-visit-but/) Henry Sherman Adams > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Plants are like people: they're all different and a little bit strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kehoe/plants-are-like-people-they-re-all-different-and-a-little-bit-strange/) [John Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kehoe/) > [Plants are not like us, and the more you study plants, the more different and deep ways you see that they are not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-jahren/plants-are-not-like-us-and-the-more-you-study-plants-the-more/) [Hope Jahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-jahren/) > [I don't mind Silk plants. I actually think they are very practical if you kill plants like I do. I have the best sources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-zarin/i-don-t-mind-silk-plants-i-actually-think-they-are-very-practical-if/) [Jill Zarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-zarin/) > [Plants seem like an excellent model for the kind of future that we should be building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/plants-seem-like-an-excellent-model-for-the-kind-of-future-that-we/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [You know what I hate? I hate people who give me plants. The whole giving someone plants - it's like giving someone a pet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-cain/you-know-what-i-hate-i-hate-people-who-give-me-plants-the-whole/) [Chelsea Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-cain/) > [Plants, like people, are social or anti-social: the good plant has to be able to live amicably with other plants in the border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richardson-wright/plants-like-people-are-social-or-anti-social-the-good-plant-has-to-be/) [Richardson Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richardson-wright/) > [When a man plants a tree, he plants himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-a-man-plants-a-tree-he-plants-himself/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Wander a whole summer if you can. Thousands of God's blessings will search you and soak you as if you were a sponge, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wander-a-whole-summer-if-you-can-thousands-of-god-s-blessings-will/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/we-are-now-in-the-mountains-and-they-are-in-us-kindling-enthusiasm/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Wander a whole summer if you can. Time will not be taken from the sum of life. Instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wander-a-whole-summer-if-you-can-time-will-not-be-taken-from-the-sum/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) ## More by John Muir > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/full-of-god-s-thoughts-a-place-of-peace-and-safety-amid-the-most/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“Here are the roots of all the life of the valleys, and here more simply than elsewhere is the eternal flux of nature manifested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/here-are-the-roots-of-all-the-life-of-the-valleys-and-here-more/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/spring-work-is-going-on-with-joyful-enthusiasm/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Our lives are rounded with a sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/our-lives-are-rounded-with-a-sleep/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/another-glorious-day-the-air-as-delicious-to-the-lungs-as-nectar-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Long, blue, spiky-edged shadows crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top, flushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/long-blue-spiky-edged-shadows-crept-out-across-the-snow-fields-while/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/this-grand-show-is-eternal-it-is-always-sunrise-somewhere-the-dew-is/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [In studying the fate of our forest king, we have thus far considered the action of purely natural causes only; but, unfortunately, man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/in-studying-the-fate-of-our-forest-king-we-have-thus-far-considered/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-forests-of-america-however-slighted-by-man-must-have-been-a-great/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Man seems to be the only animal whose food soils him, making necessary much washing and shield-like bibs and napkins. Moles living in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/man-seems-to-be-the-only-animal-whose-food-soils-him-making-necessary/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/as-long-as-i-live-i-ll-hear-waterfalls-and-birds-and-winds-sing-i-ll/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) [Explore all 409 John Muir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More Immortal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [“Death Pretends To be us,only our true selfs are immortal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-serrano/death-pretends-to-be-us-only-our-true-selfs-are-immortal/) Michael Serrano > [“She seems strange, pretty, pale, immortal and mystical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolay-punin/she-seems-strange-pretty-pale-immortal-and-mystical/) Nikolay Punin > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [We think literature is immortal, but even that decays and ultimately turns to dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-farren/we-think-literature-is-immortal-but-even-that-decays-and-ultimately/) [Mick Farren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-farren/) > [“Because, well, you're not immortal anymore. At least as far as we know; just because you can bleed doesn't mean you'll grow old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-khoury/because-well-you-re-not-immortal-anymore-at-least-as-far-as-we-know/) [Jessica Khoury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-khoury/) > [I'm not immortal. I'm not unbeatable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseem-hamed/i-m-not-immortal-i-m-not-unbeatable/) [Naseem Hamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseem-hamed/) > [Only cells that had been transformed by a virus or a genetic mutation had the potential to become immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/only-cells-that-had-been-transformed-by-a-virus-or-a-genetic-mutation/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“What is the most amazing thing about the world? 'Every day creatures die, yet the rest live as if immortal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/what-is-the-most-amazing-thing-about-the-world-every-day-creatures/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [“What she's learned is what she always learns. Plato was right. We're all of us immortal. We couldn't die if we wanted to. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/what-she-s-learned-is-what-she-always-learns-plato-was-right-we-re/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/light-physical-is-said-by-solomon-to-be-sweet-but-gospel-light-is/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) Browse all 1,296 Immortal quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They tell us that plants are not like man immortal, but are perishable-soul -less. 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