Nature without learning is like a blind man; learning without Nature, like a maimed one; practice without both, incomplete. As in agriculture a good soil is first sought for, then a skilful husbandman, and then good seed; in the same way nature corresponds to the soil, the teacher to the husbandman, precepts and instruction to the seed.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the interdependence of nature and learning for complete development.
Plutarch's quote articulates the essential relationship between nature and learning, suggesting that true understanding and growth require both elements. Just as good agriculture relies on fertile soil, skilled farming, and quality seeds, the pursuit of knowledge must be grounded in real-world experiences and guided by effective teaching. Without these components, one's development remains incomplete, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to education.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of experiential learning in education.
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.
For the correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.
Our senses through ignorance of Reality, falsely tell us that what appears to be, is. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real
As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together.
Both education and religion need to ground themselves within the story of the universe as we now understand this story through empirical knowledge. Within this functional cosmology, we can overcome our alienation and begin the renewal of life on a sustainable basis. This story is a numinous revelatory story that could evoke the vision and the energy required to bring not only ourselves but the entire planet into a new order of magnificence.
When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
Let us not forget the genial miraculous force we have known to proceed from a book.
A newspaper that reduces its coverage of the news important to its community is certain to reduce its readership as well
Children have to have access to books, and a lot of children can't go to a store and buy a book. We need not only our public libraries to be funded properly and staffed properly, but our school libraries. Many children can't get to a public library, and the only library they have is a school library.
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