If I had read as much as other men I would have known no more than they.
Interpretation
Reading widely allows for personal growth and unique insights beyond general knowledge.
In this quote, Thomas Hobbes emphasizes the importance of independent thought and critical analysis in one's pursuit of knowledge. He suggests that simply following the conventional path of reading what others do will not lead to greater understanding, but rather it is through personal exploration and questioning that true wisdom is achieved.
In practice
During a lecture on critical thinking, a professor cites this quote to encourage students to think for themselves.
Baptism is the sacrament of allegiance of them that are to be received into the Kingdom of God, that is to say, into Eternal life, that is to say, to Remission of Sin. For as Eternal life was lost by the committing, so it is recovered by the remitting of men's sins.
Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.
For it is not the shape, but their use, that makes them angels.
For to accuse requires less eloquence, such is man's nature, than to excuse; and condemnation, than absolution, more resembles justice.
Scientia potentia est, sed parva; quia scientia egregia rara est, nec proinde apparens nisi paucissimis, et in paucis rebus. Scientiae enim ea natura est, ut esse intelligi non possit, nisi ab illis qui sunt scientia praediti.
The end of knowledge is power ... the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action or thing to be done.
Devote the mind to confusion and we know only too well, if weΒ΄re honest, that it will become a dark master of confusion, adept in its addictions, subtle and perversely supple in its slaveries. Devote it in meditation to the task of freeing itself from illusion, and we will find that, with time, patience, discipline, and the right training, our mind will begin to unknot itself and know its essential bliss and clarity.
So why do I write, torturing myself to put it down? Because in spite of myself I've learned some things. Without the possibility of action, all knowledge comes to one labeled "file and forget," and I can neither file nor forget. Nor will certain ideas forget me; they keep filing away at my lethargy, my complacency. Why should I be the one to dream this nightmare?
When we develop reverence for food and the miracle of transformation inherent in it, just the simple act of eating creates a ritual of celebration.
Doverey, no proverey - Trust but verify.
But curb thou the high spirit in thy breast, for gentle ways are best, and keep aloof from sharp contentions.
To know oneself is the first step toward making flow a part of one's entire life. But just as there is no free lunch in the material economy, nothing comes free in the psychic one. If one is not willing to invest psychic energy in the internal reality of consciousness, and instead squanders it in chasing external rewards, one loses mastery of one's life, and ends up becoming a puppet of circumstances.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.