Though an inheritance of acres may be bequeathed, an inheritance of knowledge and wisdom cannot. The wealthy man may pay others for doing his work for him; but it is impossible to get his thinking done for him by another, or to purchase any kind of self-culture.
Every human being whose mind is not debauched, will be willing to give all that he has to get knowledge.
The greatest weapons in the conquest of knowledge are an understanding mind and the inexorable curiosity that drives it on.
The only thing in the world we really possess is our knowledge of the truth.
Ignorance was just as dynamic as knowledge, and it grew in the same proportion.
The pursuit of knowledge is, I think, mainly actuated by love of power. And so are all advances in scientific technique.
It is my inner conviction that the development of science seeks in the main to satisfy the longing for pure knowledge.
Were wisdom to be sold, she would give no price; every man is satisfied with the share he has from nature.
There is no desire more natural than the desire of knowledge. (Il n'est desir plus naturel que le desir de connaissance)
Man's respect for knowledge is one of his most peculiar characteristics. Knowledge in Latin is scientia, and science came to be the name of the most respectable kind of knowledge.
After knowledge comes wisdom. After wisdom comes understanding.
The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.
The pursuit of knowledge is but a course between two ignorances, as human life is itself only a wayfaring from grave to grave.
Wisdom is not the purchase of a day, and it is no wonder that we should err at the first setting off.
Wisdom and knowledge can best be understood together. Knowledge is learning, the power of the mind to understand and describe the universe. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge and how not to apply it. Knowledge is knowing what to say; wisdom is knowing whether or not to say it. Knowledge gives answers; wisdom asks questions. Knowledge can be taught, wisdom grows from experience.
Every human being is born an heir to an inheritance to which he can succeed only in a process of learning.
Some men covet knowledge out of a natural curiosity and inquisitive temper; some to entertain the mind with variety and delight; some for ornament and reputation; some for victory and contention; many for lucre and a livelihood; and but few for employing the Divine gift of reason to the use and benefit of mankind.
The pursuit of knowledge is an intoxicant, a lure that scientists and explorers have known from ancient times; indeed, exhilaration in the pursuit of knowledge is part of what has kept our species so adaptive.
