We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it will choke you.
To learn is not to know; there are the learners and the learned. Memory makes the one, philosophy the others.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Learning is distinct from mere knowledge; true understanding arises from deeper philosophical inquiry.
This quote by Alexandre Dumas emphasizes that simply acquiring knowledge is not the same as truly learning. It suggests that there are different types of individuals in the realm of education: the learners who seek deeper understanding and critical thought, and the learned who may simply hold information without the wisdom that comes from philosophical reflection. Memory aids in the retention of facts, while philosophy fosters a more profound comprehension of those facts and their implications.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to emphasize the importance of lifelong learning.
More from Alexandre Dumas
All quotes βThere are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body's sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.
I do not often laugh, sir, as you may perceive by the air of my countenance; but nevertheless, I retain the privilege of laughing when I please.
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.
Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair weather.
It is the way of weakened minds to see everything through a black cloud. The soul forms its own horizons; your soul is darkened, and consequently the sky of the future appears stormy and unpromising
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There are two ways of dealing with nonsense in this world. One way is to put nonsense in the right place; as when people put nonsense into nursery rhymes. The other is to put nonsense in the wrong place; as when they put it into educational addresses, psychological criticisms, and complaints against nursery rhymes or other normal amusements of mankind.
I really see no harm which can come of giving our children a little knowledge of physiology. ... The instruction must be real, based upon observation, eked out by good explanatory diagrams and models, and conveyed by a teacher whose own knowledge has been acquired by a study of the facts; and not the mere catechismal parrot-work which too often usurps the place of elementary teaching.
Students of reading, writing and common arithmetick . . . Graecian [Greek], Roman, English and American history . . . should be rendered . . . worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens.