--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn…" description: "\"“If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagarie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/mark-twain-22_autumn_if-we-hadn-t-our-bewitching-autumn-folia_3127355.png" --- # If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn foliage, we should… ![“If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries-the ice storm: when a leafless tree is clothed with ice from the bottom to the top – ice that is as bright and clear as crystal; when every bough…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/mark-twain-22_autumn_if-we-hadn-t-our-bewitching-autumn-folia_3127355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/mark-twain-22_autumn_if-we-hadn-t-our-bewitching-autumn-folia_3127355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/720/mark-twain-22_autumn_if-we-hadn-t-our-bewitching-autumn-folia_3127355.png) > ““If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries-the ice storm: when a leafless tree is clothed with ice from the bottom to the top – ice that is as bright and clear as crystal; when every bough and twig is strung with ice-beads, frozen dew-drops, and the whole tree sparkles cold and white, like the Shah of Persia’s diamond plume. Then the wind waves the branches and the sun comes out and turns all those myriads of beads and drops to prisms that glow and burn and flash with all manner of colored fires, which change and change again with inconceivable rapidity from blue to red, from red to green, and green to gold-the tree becomes a spraying fountain, a very explosion of dazzling jewels; and it stands there the acme, the climax, the supremest possibility in art or nature, of bewildering, intoxicating, intolerable magnificence. One cannot make the words too strong.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage marvels at the dazzling, ever‑changing visual spectacle of ice‑laden trees, likening them to priceless jewels and celebrating nature’s overwhelming magnificence. **In simple terms:** Ice on trees creates a brilliant, shifting display. Key Takeaway Appreciate nature’s fleeting, spectacular moments. Themes nature beauty transience wonder artistic metaphor Mood awe inspired contemplative Type descriptive poetic When to use this quote - winter hikes - photography - landscape painting - nature writing Key Concepts visual perception environmental awe poetic description Questions to Reflect On - How does this description affect your view of winter? - What emotions does the changing light evoke? A Different Perspective Such vivid language may romanticize harsh weather conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Foliage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foliage/) [Ice storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice-storm/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [The Ice Storm, because of the movie, has had, or is to have, a vigorous life in other cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-ice-storm-because-of-the-movie-has-had-or-is-to-have-a-vigorous/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“Here’s something I bet you don’t know: every time someone writes a story about a dragon a real dragon dies. Something about seeing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/here-s-something-i-bet-you-don-t-know-every-time-someone-writes-a/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Parents who experience pause from “the unnecessary beauty of an ice storm coating trees,” while their kids—who “bewilder well,” she writes—are simply looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/parents-who-experience-pause-from-the-unnecessary-beauty-of-an-ice/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [“There are emergency preparedness plans in place for earthquakes and hurricanes, heat waves and ice storms. There are plans for power outages of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/there-are-emergency-preparedness-plans-in-place-for-earthquakes-and/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [“In a little while they were kissing. In a little while longer, they made their slow sweet love. The iron bed sounded like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nordan/in-a-little-while-they-were-kissing-in-a-little-while-longer-they/) [Lewis Nordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nordan/) > [“We are the owls of the weather chaw. We take it blistering, We take it all. Roiling boiling gusts, We’re the owls with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/we-are-the-owls-of-the-weather-chaw-we-take-it-blistering-we-take-it/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [It's a lifelong failing: she has never been prepared. But how can you have a sense of wonder if you're prepared for everything? Prepared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-a-lifelong-failing-she-has-never-been-prepared-but-how-can-you/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“He hated this time of year. Every day was shorter than the last. Night began to fall in late afternoon. Winter could arrive on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami-hoag/he-hated-this-time-of-year-every-day-was-shorter-than-the-last-night/) [Tami Hoag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami-hoag/) > [“The Chiss have always stored sensitive data in this fashion. It is safe secure and permanent. We have lost too much data in ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dix/the-chiss-have-always-stored-sensitive-data-in-this-fashion-it-is/) [Shane Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dix/) > [Now '90210' is returning with an all-new cast of slightly more plausible teens. I'll be honest: I wish the old cast was back. Ideally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/now-90210-is-returning-with-an-all-new-cast-of-slightly-more/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [“You learned a lot by playing RPGs, although not all of it was useful, or real for that matter – unless you really believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-suciu/you-learned-a-lot-by-playing-rpgs-although-not-all-of-it-was-useful/) [Sorin Suciu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-suciu/) > [I think there's been a tendency to place me in what has been characterised as the 'moral centre' of the film. In films like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-allen/i-think-there-s-been-a-tendency-to-place-me-in-what-has-been/) [Joan Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-allen/) > [“He will not take her.” Sabelle turned toward the booming declaration. Ice. His protective gaze was as tangible as a caress. She swallowed. “Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayla-black/he-will-not-take-her-sabelle-turned-toward-the-booming-declaration/) [Shayla Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shayla-black/) > [“Some say it's wrong to profit from the misfortune of others. I ask my students whether they'd support a law against doing so. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/some-say-it-s-wrong-to-profit-from-the-misfortune-of-others-i-ask-my/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [Meanwhile, the Ice Storm was still in development, And that was something I really wanted to do, and frankly I don't think I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ang-lee/meanwhile-the-ice-storm-was-still-in-development-and-that-was/) [Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ang-lee/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Autumn quotes > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [The American spring is by no means so agreeable as the American autumn; both move with faltering step, and slow; but this lingering pace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/the-american-spring-is-by-no-means-so-agreeable-as-the-american/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [“Flowers that had bloomed brilliant from spring through autumn blackened under the killing frost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/flowers-that-had-bloomed-brilliant-from-spring-through-autumn/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“FALL I've never liked orange not even a hint of yellow though that doesn't mean I'm derange, you know. but it's still a riddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kynna-claire/fall-i-ve-never-liked-orange-not-even-a-hint-of-yellow-though-that/) Kynna Claire > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [The measured blood beats out the year's delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/the-measured-blood-beats-out-the-year-s-delay/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last for ever. Even on the most beautiful days in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-crickets-felt-it-was-their-duty-to-warn-everybody-that-summertime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-found-himself-wondering-at-times-especially-in-the-autumn-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Easter blessings All life’s sacrifices like autumn leaves awaken our senses and power to love and be whole Our Mother Earth, Our Father Sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/easter-blessings-all-life-s-sacrifices-like-autumn-leaves-awaken-our/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [The lush green of the fields became a rich gold that swayed sturdily under the wind and fell at last before the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-ostenso/the-lush-green-of-the-fields-became-a-rich-gold-that-swayed-sturdily/) [Martha Ostenso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-ostenso/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [“Autumn eats its leaf out of my hand: we are friends. From the nuts we shell time and we teach it to walk: then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/autumn-eats-its-leaf-out-of-my-hand-we-are-friends-from-the-nuts-we/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [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/) > [We must learn to do economic work from all who know how, no matter who they are. We must esteem them as teachers, learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/we-must-learn-to-do-economic-work-from-all-who-know-how-no-matter-who/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) [Browse all 1,210 Autumn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we hadn’t our bewitching autumn foliage, we should still have to credit the weather with one feature which compensates for all its bullying vagaries-the ice storm: when a leafless tree is clothed with ice from the bottom to the top – ice that is as bright and clear as crystal; when every bough and twig is strung with ice-beads, frozen dew-drops, and the whole tree sparkles cold and white, like the Shah of Persia’s diamond plume. Then the wind waves the branches and the sun comes out and turns all those myriads of beads and drops to prisms that glow and burn and flash with all manner of colored fires, which change and change again with inconceivable rapidity from blue to red, from red to green, and green to gold-the tree becomes a spraying fountain, a very explosion of dazzling jewels; and it stands there the acme, the climax, the supremest possibility in art or nature, of bewildering, intoxicating, intolerable magnificence. 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