The noblest contribution which any man can make for the benefit of posterity, is that of character. The richest bequest which any man can leave to the youth of his native land, is that of a shining, spotless example.
Robert Charles WinthropRead
Slavery is but half abolished, emancipation is but half completed, while millions of freeman with votes in their hands are left without education.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom encompasses not just the absence of slavery, but also access to education for all.
In this quote, Robert Charles Winthrop emphasizes that the emancipation of slaves is incomplete if those who are free are not provided with education. He argues that education is crucial for meaningful freedom and that political rights alone are insufficient if individuals lack the knowledge and skills necessary to exercise those rights effectively.
Themes
EducationFreedomEmancipationKnowledgeJustice
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on equal rights, one could reference this quote to highlight the importance of education in achieving true freedom.
More from Robert Charles Winthrop
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People in my neighborhood are so disconnected from the fresh food supply that kids don't know an eggplant from a sweet potato. We have to show them how to get grounded in the truest sense of the word.
Ron FinleyRead
Now that virtually every career is an option for ambitious girls, it can no longer be considered regressive or reactionary to reintroduce discussion of marriage and motherhood to primary education. We certainly do not want to return to the simplistic duality of home economics classes for girls and wood shop for boys.
Camille PagliaRead
In my own view, some advice about what should be known, about what technical education should be acquired, about the intense motivation needed to succeed, and about the carelessness and inclination toward bias that must be avoided is far more useful than all the rules and warnings of theoretical logic.
Santiago Ramon Y CajalRead
I am still amazed at the amount of Christian charity [Wellesley] stuck us all with, a kind of glazed politeness in the face of boredom and stupidity. Tolerance, in the worst sense of the word. How marvelous it would have been to go to a women's college that encouraged impoliteness, that rewarded aggression, that encouraged argument.
Nora EphronRead
I had this feeling that, somehow, we ought to be teaching not just the history of particular nations or particular regions, but the history of humanity.
David ChristianRead
I began going to juvenile prisons. And some of these kids face some very, very tough lives. How do they handle these lives? Do they even know that if their life is bad, that they're still OK? Do they know that? Do they know that someone is thinking the same way that they're thinking?
Walter Dean MyersRead