Quotes from The Last of the Mohicans

James Fenimore Cooper ·  410 pages

Rating: (77.1K votes)


“History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Every trail has its end, and every calamity brings its lesson!”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Chingachgook grasped the hand that, in the warmth of feeling, the scout had stretched across the fresh earth, and in that attitude of friendship these intrepid woodsmen bowed their heads together, while scalding tears fell to their feet, watering the grave of Uncas like drops of falling rain.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Your young white, who gathers his learning from books and can measure what he knows by the page, may conceit that his knowledge, like his legs, outruns that of his fathers’, but, where experience is the master, the scholar is made to know the value of years, and respects them accordingly.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“I've heard it said that there are men who read in books to convince themselves there is a God. I know not but man may so deform his works in the settlements, as to leave that which is so clear in the wilderness a matter of doubt among traders and priests.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans



“My day has been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of the Unamis happy and strong; and yet, before the sun has come, have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“No! You stay alive! Submit, do you hear? You're strong, you survive. You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you . . . (Hawkeye / The Last of the Mohicans) 97”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Is it justice to make evil, and then punish for it?”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“The novice in the military art flew from point to point, retarding his own preparations by the excess of his violent and somewhat distempered zeal; while the more practiced veteran made his arrangements with a deliberation that scorned every appearance of haste”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Tis a strange calling!’ muttered Hawkeye, with an inward laugh, ‘to go through life, like a catbird, mocking all the ups and downs that may happen to come out of other men’s throats.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans



“...it should be remembered that men always prize that most which is least enjoyed.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“The gifts of our colors may be different, but God has so placed us as to journey in the same path.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“And am I answerable that thoughtless and unprincipled men exist whose shades of contenance may resemble mine?”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Nothing but vast wisdom and onlimited power should dare sweep men off in multitudes,' he added; 'for it is only the one that can know the necessity of the judgement; and what is there short of the other, that can replace the creatures of the Lord?”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“...any eye at all practiced in the signs of a frontier warfare, might easily have traced all those unerring evidences of the ruthless results which attends an Indian vengeance.
Still, the sun rose on the Lenape a nation of mourners.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans



“In short, the magnifying influence of fear began to set at naught the calculations of reason, and to render those who should have remembered their manhood, the slaves of the basest passions.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“I too can play the madman, the fool, the hero; in short, any or everything to rescue her I love.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Washington, who, after uselessly admonishing the European      general of the danger into which he was heedlessly running,      saved the remnants of the British army, on this occasion, by      his decision and courage. The reputation earned by      Washington in this battle was the principal cause of his      being selected to command the American armies at a later      day. It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that while      all America rang with his well-merited reputation, his name      does not occur in any European account of the battle; at      least the author has searched for it without success. In      this manner does the mother country absorb even the fame,      under that system of rule.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Say to these kind and gentle females, that a heart-broken and failing man returns them his thanks. Tell them, that the Being we all worship, under different names, will be mindful of their charity; and that the time shall not be distant when we may assemble around His throne without distinction of sex, or rank, or color." The”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“Čuo sam već šumu gdje jauče poput čovjeka koji se nađe u nevolji; slušao sam kako vjetar pjeva svoju pjesmu među granjem drveća; slušao sam munju kako praska poput upaljena grmlja, kad bljuje iskre i rašljaste plamenove, i sve mi se to činilo tek kao volja Onoga koji drži sve stvari u svojoj ruci.”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans



“They linger yet,      Avengers of their native land."—Gray”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


“... As for me, I taught the lad the real character of a rifle; and well has he paid me for it. I have fought at his side in many a bloody scrimmage; and so long as I could hear the crack of his piece in one ear, and that of the Sagamore in the other, I knew no enemy was on my back. Winters and summers, nights and days, have we roved the wilderness in company, eating of the same dish, one sleeping while the other watched; and afore it shall be said that Uncas was taken to the torment, and I at hand - There is but a single ruler of us all, whatever maybe the color of the skin, and him I call to witness - that before the Mohican boy shall perish for the want of a friend, good faith shall depart the 'arth and 'Kill-deer' become as harmless as the tooting we'pon of the singer!”
― James Fenimore Cooper, quote from The Last of the Mohicans


About the author

James Fenimore Cooper
Born place: in Burlington, New Jersey, The United States
Born date September 15, 1789
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“Oh, I was headed home,” he said, fiddling with my fingers. “But then I just turned around; I couldn’t help it.” His hand found my upper back and pulled me closer. The windows were getting foggy. I felt like I was seventeen.
“I’ve got this problem,” he continued, in between kisses.
“Yeah?” I asked, playing dumb. My hand rested on his left bicep. My attraction soared to the heavens. He caressed the back of my head, messing up my hair…but I didn’t care; I had other things on my mind.
“I’m crazy about you,” he said.
By now I was on his lap, right in the front seat of his Diesel Ford F250, making out with him as if I’d just discovered the concept. I had no idea how I’d gotten there--the diesel pickup or his lap. But I was there. And, burying my face in his neck, I quietly repeated his sentiments. “I’m crazy about you, too.”
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“So anyway,” he continued.
That’s when we heard the loud knocking on the pickup window. I jumped through the roof--it was after 2:00 A.M. Who on earth could it be? The Son of Sam--it had to be! Marlboro Man rolled down the window, and a huge cloud of passion and steam escaped. It wasn’t the Son of Sam. Worse--it was my mother. And she was wearing her heather gray cashmere robe.
“Reeee?” she sang. “Is that yoooou?” She leaned closer and peered through the window.
I slid off of Marlboro Man’s lap and gave her a halfhearted wave. “Uh…hi, Mom. Yeah. It’s just me.”
She laughed. “Oh, okay…whew! I just didn’t know who was out here. I didn’t recognize the car!” She looked at Marlboro Man, whom she’d met only one time before, when he picked me up for a date.
“Well, hello again!” she exclaimed, extending her manicured hand.
He took her hand and shook it gently. “Hello, ma’am,” he replied, his voice still thick with lust and emotion. I sank in my seat. I was an adult, and had just been caught parking at 2:00 A.M. in the driveway of my parents’ house by my robe-wearing mother. She’d seen the foggy windows. She’d seen me sitting on his lap. I felt like I’d just gotten grounded.
“Well, okay, then,” my mom said, turning around. “Good night, you two!” And with that, she flitted back into the house.
Marlboro Man and I looked at each other. I hid my face in my hands and shook my head. He chuckled, opened the door, and said, “C’mon…I’d better get you home before curfew.” My sweaty hands still hid my face.
He walked me to the door, and we stood on the top step. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he kissed me on the nose and said, “I’m glad I came back.” God, he was sweet.
“I’m glad you did, too,” I replied. “But…” I paused for a moment, gathering courage. “Did you have something you wanted to say?”
It was forward, yes--gutsy. But I wasn’t going to let this moment pass. I didn’t have many more moments with him, after all; soon I’d be gone to Chicago. Sitting in coffee shops at eleven at night, if I wanted. Working. Eventually going back to school. I’d be danged if I was going to miss what he’d started to say a few minutes earlier, before my mom and her cashmere robe showed up and spoiled everything.”
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