"Early on the next morning we reached Kansas, about five hundred miles from the mouth of the Missouri."

Life

Create & Download Quote Graphic

Customize Image

1. Canvas Aspect Ratio

2. Palette Theme

Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Life as articulated by Francis Parkman. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Life provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

Explore all Life quotes → Browse all wisdom by Francis Parkman →

About Francis Parkman

Francis Parkman Jr. was an American historian, best known as author of The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life and his monumental seven-volume France and England in North America. These works are still valued as historical sources and as literature. He was also a leading horticulturist, briefly a professor of horticulture at Harvard University and author of several books on the topic. Parkman wrote essays opposed to legal voting for women that continued to circulate long after his death. Parkman was a trustee of the Boston Athenæum from 1858 until his death in 1893.

View all quotes by Francis Parkman →
Editorial Integrity: Curated and fact-checked under our Editorial Standards to eliminate misattributions and preserve historical authenticity.
Learn about our methodology →

More by Francis Parkman

"Four men are missing R., Sorel and two emigrants. They set out this morning after buffalo, and have not yet made their appearance whether killed or lost, we cannot tell."

— Francis Parkman
Read more →

More about Life

"Wisdom principle 58 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 11."

— Inez Asher
Read more →

"A lot of the fun lies in trying to penetrate the mystery and this is best done by saying over the lines to yourself again and again, till they pass through the stage of sounding like nonsense, and finally return to a full sense that had at first escaped notice."

— Anthony Hecht
Read more →

"Life is full of unexpected turns, and that's what makes it exciting."

— Lee Min-ho
Read more →

"If you live in Israel and you see the way life is there and then you go abroad and see the way Israel is reported on, the way that Israel gets reported on night after night is simply pictures of bombings or military actions."

— Douglas Feith
Read more →
Browse all Life quotes →