Lord James Bryce on American Haste
I heard a quote while watching The National Parks: Americas Best Idea
“Gentlemen, why in heaven’s name this haste? You have time enough. [...] Ages and ages lie before you. Why sacrifice the present to the future, fancying that you will be happier when your fields teem with wealth and your cities with people? In Europe we have cities wealthier and more populous than yours, and we are not happy. You dream of your posterity; but your posterity will look back to yours as the golden age, and envy those who first burst into this silent, splendid nature, who first lifted up their axes upon these tall trees, and lined these waters with busy wharves. Why, then, seek to complete in a few decades what the other nations of the world took thousands of years over in the older continents? [...] Why, in your hurry to subdue and utilize nature, squander her splendid gifts? [...] Why hasten the advent of that threatening day when the vacant spaces of the continent shall all have been filled, and the poverty or discontent of the older States shall find no outlet? You have opportunities such as mankind has never had before, and may never have again. Your work is great and noble; it is done for a future longer and vaster than our conceptions can embrace. Why not make its outlines and beginnings worthy of these destinies, the thought of which gilds your hopes and elevates your purposes?”
Added 10/11/2009:
This is the most popular page on my website and I am sure many people have questions on who Lord James Bryce was and why did he write this? The full text is below in context of the whole chapter.
chapter 121: The Temper of the West – Viscount James Bryce, The American Commonwealth, vol. 2 [1888]
Lord James Bryce was a British jurist, historian and politician who felt the call of the western frontier in America and became a leading voice of the times, and later became the British Ambassador to the United States.It seems that, at the time of this writing, there was an overwhelming feeling, almost a depression, about the lack of an unknown frontier in the west. Part of the excitement of living in this era was the existence of large areas on the map that were relatively unexplored. And part of the American Dream for many was to be able to get ones’ piece of the pie that was up for grabs for diligent entrepreneurs.
This American Dream philosophy still permeates our endeavors in the modern times. From those who cling to lottery tickets to those who bury their noses in their work, we are all striving for something better, sometimes at the expense of truly enjoying what we have in the present and what we may have in the future.
Thank you for posting this quote. Of the entire 2.5 hour documentary, this was the most powerful statement that summed up a period of drastic change.
Ty for finding and editing this quote, I watched the same documentary and agree with Joe G. completely. I wanted to publish it under notes as a quote on facebook, but was afraid I would not find it. Thanks again.
I appreciate your comments.
I feel the most poignant sentence is “You dream of your posterity; but your posterity will look back to yours as the golden age, and envy those who first burst into this silent, splendid nature…” He practically predicts the future.
Truth is not limited to time and space it is eternal and can be applied to nations as well as individuals. This bit of wisdom should echo through the humand mind, corporate board rooms, and the halls of congress
It is sad that so many did not listen to him, as the day is fast approaching when our govenment is going to open vast tracts of public lands in order to use the resources they comtain for renewable energy projects. Ken Salazar has as much said so in his March 2009 address to the Senate Committe on Energy and Natural Resources (“On Energy on the Public Lands and Outer Continental Shelf”). There is a fox guarding the henhouse while the average American is distracted with the economic crises and the many wars we are waging abroad. The special interest groups will have their way unless we speak up and object to the wholesale giveaway of our land. They will not be satisfied until every river is polluted, every mountaintop blown off, every drop of oil is squeezed from shale, every ounce of minerals are plucked from the earth, and every tree felled.
[...] I’ve had a lot of interest regarding the quotation from Lord James Bryce regarding American Haste, I thought I’d do a quick posting about a book signing of Shelton Johnson. He is the [...]
Lord Bryce’s words struck a chord very deep in my soul. I was born and rasied in the hills of central Kentucky and had the run of several counties as a boy. And run them I did. When I turned 18 my desire to explore was so overwhelming I joined the military and went on to travel the world. For over 20 years I roamed the earth but always felt America pulling my heart back home. Finally retired from the service, I’m still that 12 year old boy longing to go “just around the next bend” in the trail but I don’t find many places where you can actually go very far these days. Seems we’ve run out of wilderness.
Although the quote touched me, what I found profoundly comforting today was stumbling across this website and hearing, if from only a few, that Lord Bryce’s words mean something to you. Thank you all for that very much. Not only was I becoming more forlorn about my country’s current state of affairs, I thought I was alone in my thinking. Knowing others are out there that have the wit to appreciate those words tells me there’s hope yet.
I wish you all every opportunity to find what your looking for out there. Here’s hoping we can all show our children what’s around that next bend!
I appreciate your insightful comments. I am finding in my journey to 100 peaks that there are plenty of unexplored, or at least wild, areas in San Diego that beckon me every day. I am alone all day on many of these trails and truly feel the comfort and thrill of being in the wilderness. I, too, look to the next mountain and wonder what it’s like up there.
I only hope our country continues to keep protecting its precious land without selling it for pennies due to perceived necessity.
Just saw this special on KPBS. Heard that quote and was blown away. Came to the computer to search Lord James Bryce for that quote and found it here. We are just now seeing our selfish ways, over 100 years later.
It’s funny – I too ran to the computer to find this quote after hearing it on the Ken Burns’ documentary.
What I took from the quote is how we should not take the natural world for granted – even in these modern times. When we walk into the woods, we visually see it for what it is, not for what it was or what it will be. Appreciate the uniqueness of the experience.