--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The modern spectacle of vanished forests…" description: "\"The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are rep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg" --- # The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands… ![“The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated, and continual revision of positive law, is evidence of what an age without veneration does to itself and its successors.” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg) > “The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated, and continual revision of positive law, is evidence of what an age without veneration does to itself and its successors.” [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) ## 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 warns that neglecting reverence leads to environmental ruin, fiscal chaos, and legal instability. **In simple terms:** Ignoring respect harms nature, money, and law. Key Takeaway Respect and protect what is valuable. Themes environment economics law culture heritage Mood concerned reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - environmental activism - budget planning - legal reform Key Concepts sustainability conservation fiscal responsibility legal integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does reverence shape policy? - What values are lost without it? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex socio‑economic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Mining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mining/) [National debt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-debt/) [Petroleum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/petroleum/) [Veneration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veneration/) ## Related quotes > [Mirthfulness is in the mind and you cannot get it out. It is just as good in its place as conscience or veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirthfulness-is-in-the-mind-and-you-cannot-get-it-out-it-is-just-as/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [But he has gone, A nation's memory and veneration, Among the radiant, ever venturing on, Somewhere, with morning, as such spirits will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/but-he-has-gone-a-nation-s-memory-and-veneration-among-the-radiant/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [“...why do people venerate Einstein or Bill Gates? Clive Bell explains: Genius worship is the inevitable sign of an uncreative age…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/why-do-people-venerate-einstein-or-bill-gates-clive-bell-explains/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [Those who confine God's love exclusively to the elect appear to me to take a narrow and contracted view of God's character and attributes…I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-confine-god-s-love-exclusively-to-the-elect-appear-to-me-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That man is formed for social life is an observation which, upon our first inquiry, presents itself immediately to our view, and our reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-warren/that-man-is-formed-for-social-life-is-an-observation-which-upon-our/) [Joseph Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-warren/) > [In this world there is one godlike thing, the essence of all that was or ever will be of godlike in this world: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/in-this-world-there-is-one-godlike-thing-the-essence-of-all-that-was/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The veneration, wherewith Men are imbued for what they call Nature, has been a discouraging impediment to the Empire of Man over the inferior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-veneration-wherewith-men-are-imbued-for-what-they-call-nature-has/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [What but education has advanced us beyond the condition of our indigenous neighbors? And what chains them to their present state of barbarism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-but-education-has-advanced-us-beyond-the-condition-of-our/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Each superfluous line, each wrongly placed line, any color placed without veneration or care, can spoil everything, that is, the spiritual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-van-doesburg/each-superfluous-line-each-wrongly-placed-line-any-color-placed/) [Theo van Doesburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-van-doesburg/) > [Mix a little mystery with everything, for mystery arouses veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/mix-a-little-mystery-with-everything-for-mystery-arouses-veneration/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/keep-the-extent-of-your-abilities-unknown-the-wise-man-does-not-allow/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It may be considered as an objection inherent in the principle, that as every appeal to the people would carry an implication of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/it-may-be-considered-as-an-objection-inherent-in-the-principle-that/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Religion in a magistrate strengthens his authority, because it procures veneration, and gains a reputation to it. In all the affairs of this world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/religion-in-a-magistrate-strengthens-his-authority-because-it/) [John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/) > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [It seems like only yesterday that savers were dorks. They kept piggy banks. They drove last year's cars. They fished in their change purses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/it-seems-like-only-yesterday-that-savers-were-dorks-they-kept-piggy/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) ## More by Russell Kirk > [“Only portions of the globe still enslaved by the enemies of the people refrained from congratulating President Zingu and Premier Villiers-Kolama upon the astounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/only-portions-of-the-globe-still-enslaved-by-the-enemies-of-the/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“Manfredo -- Your Excellency -- how can you, even you, hope...?" "Life is a jest, and all things show it, my dear," I replied;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/manfredo-your-excellency-how-can-you-even-you-hope-life-is-a-jest-and/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“Today, as in the past, we ought to remind ourselves that the true natural law is not a mere congeries of appetites, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/today-as-in-the-past-we-ought-to-remind-ourselves-that-the-true/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Moral decay first hampers and then strangles honest government, regular commerce, and even the ability to take genuine pleasure in the goods of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/moral-decay-first-hampers-and-then-strangles-honest-government/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [ “Men are put into this world, he \[the enlightened conservative\] realizes, to struggle, to suffer, to contend against the evil that is in their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/men-are-put-into-this-world-he-the-enlightened-conservative-realizes/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Mine was not an Enlightened mind, I now was aware: it was a Gothic mind, medieval in its temper and structure. I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/mine-was-not-an-enlightened-mind-i-now-was-aware-it-was-a-gothic-mind/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Humility, which Burke ranked high among the virtues, is the only effectual restraint upon this congenital vanity; yet our world has nearly forgotten the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/humility-which-burke-ranked-high-among-the-virtues-is-the-only/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Rousseau and his disciples were resolved to force men to be free; in most of the world, they triumphed; men are set free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/rousseau-and-his-disciples-were-resolved-to-force-men-to-be-free-in/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Politics moves upward into ethics, and ethics ascends to theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/politics-moves-upward-into-ethics-and-ethics-ascends-to-theology/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [If men are discharged of reverence for ancient usage, they will treat this world, almost certainly, as if it were their private property, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/if-men-are-discharged-of-reverence-for-ancient-usage-they-will-treat/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“The Conservative Mind describes a cast of intellect or a type of character, an inclination to cherish the permanent things in human existence. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-conservative-mind-describes-a-cast-of-intellect-or-a-type-of/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Privilege, in any society, is the reward of duties performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/privilege-in-any-society-is-the-reward-of-duties-performed/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“There are six canons of conservative thought: 1) Belief in a transcendent order, or body of natural law, which rules society as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/there-are-six-canons-of-conservative-thought-1-belief-in-a/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [The Secular City, having legislated and litigated itself out of any entanglement with the City of God, would be a hell upon earth .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-secular-city-having-legislated-and-litigated-itself-out-of-any/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Why do we not exhaust the heritage of the ages, spiritual and material for our immediate pleasure, and let posterity go hang? So far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/why-do-we-not-exhaust-the-heritage-of-the-ages-spiritual-and-material/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) [Explore all 96 Russell Kirk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) ## 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": "The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated, and continual revision of positive law, is evidence of what an age without veneration does to itself and its successors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Kirk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests-and-eroded-lands-wasted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests-and-eroded-lands-wasted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52e/russell-kirk-6909_age_the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests_413539.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national…” — Russell Kirk", "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": "Russell Kirk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The modern spectacle of vanished forests...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests-and-eroded-lands-wasted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-modern-spectacle-of-vanished-forests-and-eroded-lands-wasted/#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 } } ] } ```