By profession a biologist, [Thomas Henry Huxley] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences. Absolutely nothing was uninteresting to him. His curiosity ranged from music to theology and from philosophy to history. He didn't simply know something about everything; he knew a great deal about everything.
Interpretation
Huxley exemplified a deep curiosity and knowledge across multiple disciplines.
This quote highlights Thomas Henry Huxley's insatiable curiosity and breadth of knowledge, illustrating how he transcended traditional academic boundaries to explore various fields. His approach encourages individuals to foster a love for learning and to seek knowledge in diverse areas, demonstrating that true understanding encompasses not just specialization, but a love for exploration across disciplines.
In practice
This quote can be used in a lecture on the importance of interdisciplinary studies.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
Honesty is seldom ingratiating and often discomfiting.
When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your own duty.
When the intellect and affections are in harmony; when intellectual consciousness is calm and deep; inspiration will not be confounded with fancy.
I write to discover what I think. After all, the bars aren't open that early.
There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five.
The truths that I know best I have learned on my knees. I never know a thing well, till it is burned into my heart by prayer.
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