Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
Content if hence th' unlearn'd their wants may view, The learn'd reflect on what before they knew.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that both the ignorant and the learned can gain insights, with the unlearned recognizing their needs and the knowledgeable reflecting on their past knowledge.
In this quote, Alexander Pope highlights the different ways that people engage with knowledge and understanding. The unlearned, lacking awareness, may become aware of their desires and needs through observation, while those who are learned have the ability to contemplate and reflect on their prior knowledge. This duality underscores the importance of both experience and education in the pursuit of understanding.
Themes
KnowledgeLearningReflectionWisdomUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an educational setting to inspire students to gain knowledge and reflect on their learning.
More from Alexander Pope
All quotes βWhat dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Alexander PopeRead
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
Alexander PopeRead
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
Alexander PopeRead
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Alexander PopeRead
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
Alexander PopeRead
Similar quotes
The Unitarian Church has done more than any other church to substitute character for creed, and to say that a man should be judged by his spirit; by the climate of his heart; by the autumn of his generosity; by the spring of his hope; that he should be judged by what he does; by the influence that he exerts, rather than by the mythology he may believe.
Robert Green IngersollRead
...have you ever found God in church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.
Alice WalkerRead
The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line: the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.
W. E. B. Du BoisRead
Money is the seed of money, and the first guinea is sometimes more difficult to acquire than the second million.
Jean-Jacques RousseauRead
There aren't just bad people that commit genocide; we are all capable of it. It's our evolutionary history.
James LovelockRead
The Way is eternal. Until your last day, you are free from peril.
LaoziRead