---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can try to kill all that is native…"
description: "\"We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.\" — Terry Tempest Williams"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png"
---

#  We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its…

![“We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.” quote by Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png)

> “We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.”

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Attempts to suppress nature fail; the spirit of wilderness persists despite oppression.

**In simple terms:** Nature's spirit endures.

Key Takeaway

Respect and protect wildness.

Themes

environment resilience spirituality

Mood

inspirational urgent

Type

environmental philosophical

When to use this quote

- conservation policy
- land management
- personal activism

Key Concepts

ecology human impact

Questions to Reflect On

- What does wildness mean to you?
- How can societies balance development and nature?

A Different Perspective

Human control can cause irreversible damage.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Howl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howl/) [Howls Wildness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howls-wildness-498758/) [Kill Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-native-498759/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirit Howls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-howls-498760/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Wildness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildness/) [Wildness Endures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildness-endures-498757/)

## Related quotes

> [I think an erotics of place may be one of the reasons why environmentalists are seen as subversive. There is a backlash now:... \[ellipsis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-think-an-erotics-of-place-may-be-one-of-the-reasons-why/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-be-whole-to-be-complete-wildness-reminds-us-what-it-means-to-be/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“To write,” Marguerite Duras remarked, “is also not to speak. It is to keep silent. It is to howl noiselessly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-write-marguerite-duras-remarked-is-also-not-to-speak-it-is-to-keep/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I can tell that the Greater Yellowstone from the Tetons, to the Lamar Valley where wolves howl and grizzlies roam, acts as my spine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-can-tell-that-the-greater-yellowstone-from-the-tetons-to-the-lamar/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [As I came home through the woods with my string of fish, trailing my pole, it being now quite dark, I caught a glimpse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-i-came-home-through-the-woods-with-my-string-of-fish-trailing-my/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“I no longer follow the voices of the sane. I follow the ill because they see farther, feel much more and change what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/i-no-longer-follow-the-voices-of-the-sane-i-follow-the-ill-because/)

[Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/)

> [There are few places in England where you can get so much wildness and desolation of sea and sandhills, wood, green marsh and grey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-hudson/there-are-few-places-in-england-where-you-can-get-so-much-wildness/)

[William Henry Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-hudson/)

> [“The more I read, the more I felt connected across time to other lives and deeper sympathies. I felt less isolated. I wasn’t floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-more-i-read-the-more-i-felt-connected-across-time-to-other-lives/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“It was early evening twilight when we came around a corner… and there in the road was a red deer stag. He leapt up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-frost/it-was-early-evening-twilight-when-we-came-around-a-corner-and-there/)

[Michelle Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-frost/)

> [Every wild apple shrub excites our expectation thus, somewhat as every wild child. It is, perhaps, a prince in disguise. What a lesson to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-wild-apple-shrub-excites-our-expectation-thus-somewhat-as-every/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Love is beauty, consciousness is trust. One of the deepest feminine pleasures is when a man stands full, present, and unreactive in the midst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/love-is-beauty-consciousness-is-trust-one-of-the-deepest-feminine/)

[David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/)

> [Fury is an entirely appropriate response to a system that sends young people to kill other young people in a war that never should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/fury-is-an-entirely-appropriate-response-to-a-system-that-sends-young/)

[Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/)

> [If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse... but surely you will see the wildness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-wild-horse-you-might-not-see-the-horse-but-surely-you/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/)

[Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/)

> [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/)

[Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/)

## More by Terry Tempest Williams

> [I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-admire-how-she-protects-her-energy-and-understands-her-limitations/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Buddha says there are two kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering and the kind that brings an end to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/buddha-says-there-are-two-kinds-of-suffering-the-kind-that-leads-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I wonder how, among the Fremont, mothers and daughters shared their world. Did they walk side by side along the lake edge? What stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-wonder-how-among-the-fremont-mothers-and-daughters-shared-their/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I believe the personal is the collective. One of the ironies of writing memoir is in using the "I" it becomes an alchemical "we."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-the-personal-is-the-collective-one-of-the-ironies-of/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to discover. I write to uncover. I write to meet my ghosts... I write because it is dangerous, a bloody risk, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-discover-i-write-to-uncover-i-write-to-meet-my-ghosts-i/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I write to make peace with the things I cannot control. I write to create red in a world that often appears black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-write-to-make-peace-with-the-things-i-cannot-control-i-write-to/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Hope is not attached to outcomes but is a state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/hope-is-not-attached-to-outcomes-but-is-a-state-of-mind/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I have spoken about what we can do as citizens, what we can do as a responsive citizenry, and this is where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-have-spoken-about-what-we-can-do-as-citizens-what-we-can-do-as-a/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The moment Eve bit into the apple, her eyes opened and she became free. She exposed the truth of what every woman knows: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-moment-eve-bit-into-the-apple-her-eyes-opened-and-she-became-free/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [I accept the Organic Trinity of Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal with as much authority as I accept the Holy Trinity. Both are sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-accept-the-organic-trinity-of-mineral-vegetable-and-animal-with-as/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [Good writing must stay open to the questions and not fall prey to the pull of a polemic, otherwise, words simply become predictable, sentimental,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/good-writing-must-stay-open-to-the-questions-and-not-fall-prey-to-the/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“I believe we must do things in our lives for the right reasons, because we enjoy doing them, with no expectation of getting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-believe-we-must-do-things-in-our-lives-for-the-right-reasons/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [A mother and daughter are an edge. Edges are ecotones, transitional zones, places of danger or opportunity. House-dwelling tension. When I stand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/a-mother-and-daughter-are-an-edge-edges-are-ecotones-transitional/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“To be read. To be heard. To be seen. I want to be read, I want to be heard. I don't need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/to-be-read-to-be-heard-to-be-seen-i-want-to-be-read-i-want-to-be/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-eyes-of-the-future-are-looking-back-at-us-and-they-are-praying/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

[Explore all 357 Terry Tempest Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

## More Endure quotes

> [So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us… But the test a loving God has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/so-many-things-beat-upon-us-in-a-lifetime-that-simply-enduring-may/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/)

[Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

[James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/)

> [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/)

[Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/)

> [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/)

> [It is well for a man when he has learned to endure what he cannot change, and to give up with dignity what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/it-is-well-for-a-man-when-he-has-learned-to-endure-what-he-cannot/)

[Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/)

> [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/)

[Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/)

> [It is impossible to build enduring institutions without solid values. For us, the fundamental value is that associated with democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/it-is-impossible-to-build-enduring-institutions-without-solid-values/)

[Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/)

> [I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-love-the-light-for-it-shows-me-the-way-yet-i-will-endure-the/)

[Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/)

> [“This is how they are able to continue and endure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/this-is-how-they-are-able-to-continue-and-endure/)

[Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/)

> [There are many who say they want to be victorious Christians, but few are willing to endure the discipline necessary to make one a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/there-are-many-who-say-they-want-to-be-victorious-christians-but-few/)

[Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/)

> [“Whatever befalls us, we will endure it together. I clutch my longbow and dagger close to my side. My last thoughts linger on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-noce/whatever-befalls-us-we-will-endure-it-together-i-clutch-my-longbow/)

[Mark Noce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-noce/)

> [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

[Browse all 2,549 Endure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wildness endures.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Terry Tempest Williams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-string-it-up-by-its-hind-legs/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Endure"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-string-it-up-by-its-hind-legs/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/terry-tempest-williams-835_endure_we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-st_1632680.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We can try to kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and…” — Terry Tempest Williams",
                "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": "Terry Tempest Williams",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We can try to kill all...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-string-it-up-by-its-hind-legs/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/we-can-try-to-kill-all-that-is-native-string-it-up-by-its-hind-legs/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```