Most memorable and poetic 45 quotes from A River Runs Through It

Philosophical & Poetic Quotes:

1. “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

2. “I am haunted by waters.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

3. “The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

4. “In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

5. “A river, though, has so many things to say that it is hard to know what it says to each of us.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

6. “It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

7. “We can love completely without complete understanding.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

8. “You can’t catch fish if you don’t keep your line in the water.” — Norman Maclean
   
   

9. “The river, as always, was there.” — Norman Maclean

On Family & Love:

10. “My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—came by grace, and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

11. “For my father, there was no better expression of perfect beauty than a man wading in a river with a fly rod.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

12. “My brother stood before us, not on a bank of the Big Blackfoot River but suspended above the earth, free from all its laws.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

13. “It is a world with dew still on it, more touched by wonder and possibility than any I have ever known.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

14. “You can love completely without complete understanding.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

15. “My father and I sat for a long time in silence. I could think of only one thing. My brother was beautiful.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

On Life & Nature:

16. “Method is the way you do something. Grace is the way it is done.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

17. “The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

18. “When I am alone in the half-light of the canyon, all existence seems to fade to a being with my soul and memories.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

19. “Each one of us here today will, at one time in our lives, look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: ‘We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed?'” — Norman Maclean
    
    

20. “No one can tell you what a poem is about. It tells you itself.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

On Fishing & The River as a Metaphor for Life:

21. “Fly fishing is an art that is performed on a four-count rhythm between ten and two o’clock.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

22. “Many of us would probably be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

23. “You can’t catch fish with a dry line in the water.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

24. “The river was with me.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

25. “A fisherman, by nature, is a silent observer.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

26. “The river was not just a river to us. It was the lifeblood of our family, running through our souls as it did through the land.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

Closing Reflections:

27. “Now, nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

28. “Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories, and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

29. “And a river runs through it.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

30. “The river flowed past rocks that were the bones of the world, beneath mountains that rose like cathedrals.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

Bonus Quotes from the Movie:

31. “The Lord has blessed us all today… It’s just that he has been particularly good to me.” — Paul Maclean
    
    

32. “Help is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

33. “My father said that the art of casting a fly for trout should be taught as though it were a four-count rhythm, as in the Greek verse.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

34. “Maybe what he likes is somebody trying to help him.” — Jessie Burns
    
    

35. “When I was young, my father said to me, ‘Norman, you like to write stories?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ Then he said, ‘Someday, when you’re ready, you might tell our family story. Only then will you understand what happened and why.'” — Norman Maclean
    
    

On Time & Memory:

36. “Time is a river that sweeps me along, but I am the river.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

37. “Time has had its way with the Big Blackfoot River.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

38. “Even the rocks were worn smooth by the time of the river.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

39. “Memory is a river, and all we do is ride its currents.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

40. “There was a great stillness on the river, as if time itself had stopped flowing.” — Norman Maclean
    
    

Extra Quotes Inspired by the Book & Movie:

41. “Life is made up of moments where the river of time carries us forward.” — Inspired by Norman Maclean
    
    

42. “The river is always there, moving forward, reminding us of where we have been and where we are going.” — Inspired by Norman Maclean
    
    

43. “To fish is to hope, to cast is to dream, and to catch is to believe.” — Inspired by Norman Maclean
    
    

44. “We are all connected by water, memory, and love.” — Inspired by Norman Maclean
    
    

45. “Even the most beautiful things in life must eventually flow away, but their memory lingers like ripples on a quiet river.” — Inspired by Norman Maclean
    
    

The End.

Thank You.