A man's heart away from nature becomes hard; lack of respect for growing, living things soon leads to a lack of respect for humans too.

Standing Bear links ethical life to an ongoing relationship with the natural world. The “hard” heart is not merely emotional numbness but a moral dulling produced by separation from living systems—plants, animals, seasons, and the reciprocal responsibilities they imply. The second clause makes the argument political: once a society treats “growing, living things” as disposable or merely instrumental, it becomes easier to treat people the same way. Read in the context of Indigenous critiques of industrial modernity and assimilation, the line functions as both warning and diagnosis: ecological disrespect and human oppression are intertwined habits of mind.