55 Best River Quotes About The Beauty Of Nature

Srija Chanda
Dec 12, 2023 By Srija Chanda
Originally Published on Mar 04, 2021
Edited by Jacob Fitzbright
Beautiful natural scenery of river in southeast Asia tropical green forest with mountains in background

River refers to a body of water that flows from a higher elevation to lower ground.

Rivers often start from the mountains and ultimately end when they reach the sea. The mouth of a river is called a delta.

A delta is a large portion of the land-water body that usually occurs in the case of large rivers. Deltas are formed due to the accumulation of mud and slit which a river carries throughout its journey from the mountains to the plains.

Rivers also signify freedom, free-flowing nature, so be like a river and stream past all your obstacles in life.

If you find our content interesting, then do check out water quotes and [nature quotes]

Best And Famous River Quotes

Enlisted below are the best river quotes along with some cool river quotations, river sayings, nature quotes and life is like a river quote.

1. “Be like a river. Be open. Flow.”

- Julie Connor, ‘Dreams To Action Trailblazer's Guide’.

2. “Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?

That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.”

- Hermann Hesse, ‘Siddhartha’.

3. “May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.”

- Rainer Maria Rilke.

4. "A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure. It offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have power over it. "

- Oliver Wendell Holmes.

5. "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs."

- Norman Maclean, 'A River Runs Through It And Other Stories'.

6. "Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”

- A.A. Milne, 'Winnie The Pooh'.

7. "A good river is nature's life work in song.”

- Mark Helprin, 'Freddy And Fredericka'.

8. "I choose to listen to the river for a while, thinking river thoughts, before joining the night and the stars."

- Edward Abbey, 'Desert Solitaire'.

9. "A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”

- James N. Watkins.

10. "The rivers flow not past, but through us."

- John Muir.

11. "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

- Heraclitus.

12. "Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.”

- Emma Smith.

13. "I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”

- John O'Donohue.

14. "No one tests the depth of the river with both feet.”

- Ashanti Proverb.

15. "I have never seen a river that I could not love. Moving water has a fascinating vitality."

- Roderick Haig-Brown.

16. "The river is one of my favorite metaphors, the symbol of the great flow of Life Itself. The river begins at Source, and returns to Source, unerringly.”

- Jeffrey R. Anderson, 'The Nature Of Things - Navigating Everyday Life With Grace'.

17. "The care of rivers is not a question of rivers but of the human heart."

- Shozo Tanaka.

18. "Rivers are roads which move, and which carry us whither we desire to go.”

- Blaise Pascal.

19. "Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

- A.A. Milne, 'Winnie-The-Pooh'.

Famous Quotes About Rivers

In this category, you will find famous river sayings, quotes about the river and quotes on how a river runs.

20. "A dream is like a river ever-changing as it flows and a dreamer's just a vessel that must follow where it goes."

- Garth Brooks.

21. "Stars do not struggle to shine, rivers do not struggle to flow, and you will never struggle to excel in life because of the power of your passion."

- Donald Driver.

22. "Ideas, like large rivers, never have just one source."

- Willy Ley.

23. "The fountains of sacred rivers flow upwards."

- Euripides.

24. "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water."

- Benjamin Franklin.

25. "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."

- Desmond Tutu.

26. "The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life."

- Lynn Culbreath Noel.

27. "You know how a river goes on and on? That's my love for you."

- Beth Kephart, ‘Undercover’.

28. "What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else."

- Hal Boyle.

29. "A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself."

- Laura Gilpin.

30. "The river knows the way to the sea:

Without a pilot it runs and falls,

Blessing all lands with its charity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

31. "Although we are in different boats you in your boat and we in our canoe we share the same river of life."

- Oren Lyons.

32. "A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle, and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."

- George William Curtis.

33. "Days and rivers are the same; they both flow to the unknown oceans."

- Mehmet Murat Ildan.

34. "Rivers run through our history and folklore, and link us as a people.... We are a nation rich in rivers."

- Charles Kuralt.

35. "In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time."

- Leonardo da Vinci.

36. "Time is a kind of river, an irresistible flood sweeping up men and events and carrying them headlong, one after the other, to the great sea of being."

- Marcus Aurelius.

37. "The good life of any river may depend on the perception of its music; and the preservation of some music to perceive."

- Aldo Leopold

38. "Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river."

- Laozi.

Best Poems Quotes On Rivers

Here are some the finest quotes from the various poems on rivers.

39. "Worlds on worlds are rolling ever

From creation to decay,

Like the bubbles on a river

Sparkling, bursting, borne away."

- Percy Bysshe Shelley.

40. "Dear native Brook! wild Streamlet of the West!

How many various-fated years have past,"

- Samuel Taylor Coldridge, ‘Sonnet : To The River Otter’.

41. "River, river, little river!

Bright you sparkle on your way;

O’er the yellow pebbles dancing,"

- Caroline Ann Bowles, ‘The River’.

42. "Flow gently, sweet Afton,

Among thy green braes,

Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise."

- Robert Burns, ‘Afton Water’.

43. "River! that in silence windest

Through the meadows, bright and free,

Till at length thy rest thou findest

In the bosom of the sea!"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ‘To The River Charles’.

Cool Quotes About Water

Here are some cool water quotes along with ocean quotes and river sayings.  

44. "Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

- Martin Luther King Jr.

45. "Water does not resist. Water flows."

Margaret Atwood, 'The Penelopiad'.

46. "We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations."

- David R. Brower.

47. "Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life."

- John Updike.

48. "Always be like a water. Float in the times of pain or dance like waves along the wind which touches its surface.”

- Santosh Kalwar.

49. "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."

- Loren Eiseley.

50. "Love is the water of life, jump into this water."

- Rumi.

51. "Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

52. "It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.”

- Nicholas Sparks, 'The Notebook'.

53. "Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water."

- Christopher Morley.

54. "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water."

- W. H. Auden.

55. "Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water."

- Christopher Morley.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for river quotes then why not take a look at ocean quotes or mother nature quotes?

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Written by Srija Chanda

Master of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies

Srija Chanda picture

Srija ChandaMaster of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies

An aspiring media professional, Srija is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mass Communication at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, after completing her degree in journalism. With experience in PR and social media, she has also honed her leadership skills through her participation in a youth parliament. Srija's interests include devouring books, watching movies, and exploring new places through travel.

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