For the correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.
Interpretation
The mind should be inspired and encouraged to think critically rather than just filled with information.
In this quote by Plutarch, he suggests that the mind is not merely a container for facts but rather a dynamic entity that requires stimulation and inspiration to reach its full potential. The analogy of wood needing ignition implies that the best learning occurs when individuals are motivated to explore, question, and engage actively with knowledge rather than passively absorbing it.
In practice
This quote can be used in a classroom setting to encourage students to think creatively.
Sometimes small incidents, rather than glorious exploits, give us the best evidence of character. So, as portrait painters are more exact in doing the face, where the character is revealed, than the rest of the body, I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the marks of the souls of men.
It were better to have no opinion of God at all than such a one as is unworthy of him; for the one is only belief - the other contempt.
Come back with your shield - or on it
The richest soil, if uncultivated, produces the rankest weeds.
Our senses through ignorance of Reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.
A college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.
Education develops the intellect; and the intellect distinguishes man from other creatures. It is education that enables man to harness nature and utilize her resources for the well-being and improvement of his life
Give me a child for the first 5 years of his life and he will be mine forever.
Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.
The schools must fashion the person, and fashion him in such a way that he simply cannot will otherwise than what you wish him to will.
I don't really get things very... intuitively. I mean, I don't immediately understand things. The only way I really get it is by writing it down.
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