"Many years have passed since the exploration, and those who were boys with me in the enterprise are—ah, most of them are dead, and the living are gray with age. Their bronzed, hardy, brave faces come before me as they appeared in the vigor of life; their lithe but powerful forms seem to move around me; and the memory of the men and their heroic deeds, the men and their generous acts, overwhelms me with a joy that seems almost a grief, for it starts a fountain of tears. I was a maimed man; my right arm was gone; and these brave men, these good men, never forgot it. In every danger my safety was their first care, and in every waking hour some kind service was rendered me, and they transfigured my misfortune into a boon."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Non-fiction authors from the United StatesLinguists from the United StatesMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyGeologists from the United StatesExplorers from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Preface
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Powell
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for his 1869 geographic expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first official U.S. government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon.
23 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by John Wesley Powell →
Related Quotes
"Honest investigation is but the application of common sense to the solution of the unknown. Science does not wait on …"
"Years of drought and famine come and years of flood and famine come, and the climate is not changed with dance, libat…"
"The verb is relatively of much greater importance in an Indian tongue than in a civilized language."
"Possible ideas and thoughts are vast in number. A distinct word for every distinct idea and thought would require a v…"
"The integers of language are sentences, and their organs are the parts of speech. Linguistic organization, then, cons…"
"Indian nouns are extremely connotive; that is, the name does more than simply denote the thing to which it belongs; i…"
"In Seneca the north is "the sun never goes there," and this sentence may be used as adjective or noun; in such cases …"
"In Ute the name for bear is "he seizes," or "the hugger." In this case the verb is used for the noun, and in so doing…"
"Economy in speech is the force by which its development has been accomplished, and it divides itself properly into ec…"
"Scientific education is catholic; it embraces the whole field of human learning. No student can master all knowledge …"