Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.

It is always advisable to perceive clearly our ignorance.

When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing. To allow that you do not know it—this is knowledge.

Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge.

To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of human existence.

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.

No one can draw more out of things, books included, than he already knows. A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access.

The knowledge and skills you have achieved are meant to be forgotten so you can float comfortably in emptiness, without obstruction.

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.

Re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

If you want a new idea, read an old book.

I keep six honest serving men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

There are few things more pathetic than those who have lost their curiosity and sense of adventure, and who no longer care to learn.