“On no subject are our ideas more warped and pitiable than on death. ... Let children walk with nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life, and that the grave has no victory, for it never fights.”

Scottish-born American naturalist and writer

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist and writer, active in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is remembered as an early and influential voice for preserving wilderness in the United States. Muir also worked as an environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, and glaciologist. He is associated with the names “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks,” titles that reflect his lasting role in shaping wilderness preservation and the language around it.