Big Sur, in the words of Henry Miller

In his great triptych “The Millennium,” the painter Hieronymus Bosch used oranges and other fruits to symbolize the delights of Paradise. It inspired the title of American writer Henry Miller’s book, “Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch,” first published in 1957, telling the story of the 15 years Miller spent living in Big Sur. I bought a copy of the memoir at the Henry Miller Memorial Library. Below are excerpts from the preface, paired with scenes from our trip.

“Big Sur has a climate of its own and a character all its own. It is a region where extremes meet, a region where one is always conscious of weather, of space, of grandeur and of eloquent silence.

In summer, when the fogs roll in, one can look down upon a sea of clouds floating listlessly above the ocean.”

“The sea, which looks so near and so tempting, is often difficult to reach.

An inviting land, but hard to conquer. It seeks to remain unspoiled, uninhabited by man.”

“Here the redwood made its last stand.

At dawn its majesty is almost painful to behold. The same prehistoric look. The look of always. Nature smiling at herself in the mirror of eternity.”

“Everything is begging to be discovered, not accidentally, but intuitively.

One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.”

“The most difficult thing to adjust to, apparently, is peace and contentment. As long as there is something to fight, people seem able to brave all manner of hardships.

Remove the element of struggle, and they are like fish out of water.”

“It was here at Big Sur that I first learned to say Amen!”

“I know there are some who complain that Big Sur does not offer enough stimulus. My feeling, on the contrary, is that there is too much stimulus here.

To the man who senses are alive and alert there is not even the need to stir from one’s threshold.

Only when we are truly alone does the fullness and richness of life reveal itself to us.”

“One may be capable, practical, determined, persevering, full of vitality, yet never quite equal to the challenge which is constantly imposed. It is thrown at you pell-mell: landscapes, seascapes, forests, streams, birds of passage, sunsets, rainbows, yarrow, hollyhocks, and that leech of the plant world called the morning-glory.”

“Even the rocks are seductive and hypnotic.”

“A place is only what you make it, what you bring to it, just as with a friend, a lover, a wife, a pet or a pursuit.

Yes, Big Sur can be a dream come true—or a complete washout. If there’s something wrong with the picture, have a look at yourself in the mirror.”