Marilynne Robinson Quotes

The most important question we must ask ourselves is, 'Are we being good ancestors?'

God has lent us the earth for our life; it is a great entail. It belongs as much to those who are to come after us, and whose names are already written in the book of creation, as to us; and we have no right, by anything that we do or neglect, to involve them in unnecessary penalties, or deprive them of benefits which it was in our power to bequeath.

We must all live so that our children do not have to pay for our deeds.

Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.

We cannot shirk responsibility from concerns for the welfare of the next generation.

This is the moral challenge of our generation. Not only are the eyes of the world upon us. More important, succeeding generations depend on us. We cannot rob our children of their future.

In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, we must in turn plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will benefit the generations to come.

The man who thinks only of his own generation is born for few.

If you think about your and my grandchildren, this is what really worries me. I don't want them - if I'm still alive by then - to say, 'Why didn't you do something about it?', when you could have done.

Perhaps a good resolution for the new year would be to keep asking what world we want to pass on to the next generation. Indeed to ask whether we have a real and vivid sense of that next generation.

The world is not given by our fathers but borrowed from our children.

Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure?

What our Seventh Generation will have is a consequence of our actions today.

Why should I care about posterity? What's posterity ever done for me?

I haven't inherited the earth from my parents, I am borrowing it from my children.

Real leadership means tackling tough problems ourselves and not leaving them to our children.

We must strive to become good ancestors.

We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.

Posterity is the world to come; the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility. We must do what America does best: offer more opportunity to all and demand responsibility from all.

We are at risk of turning over to the next generation a worse life than we have had.

We - the current generation - have a moral responsibility to make the world better for future generations.

Whatever your age, think about the young generation. And try to give them back the future being taken from them.

When I think about my legacy, I think about the world that we leave behind for our children.

I have the responsibility to translate peace and stability for future generations.

We must again carry the burden of our people and shoulder our commitment to leading them to the promised land.