What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that one can speak without truly communicating or engaging in meaningful dialogue.
George Bernard Shaw emphasizes the distinction between mere speech and the art of conversation. While a person may possess the ability to speak, they might struggle with connecting or engaging others on a deeper level, leading to a lack of genuine interaction despite their vocal abilities. This points to the importance of communication skills in fostering meaningful relationships and understanding.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about effective communication skills, one might say, 'As George Bernard Shaw pointed out, the trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.'
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
Similar quotes
Imagine all the people Sharing all the world.
You can feel the whole world and still feel lost in it. So many people are in pain-- no matter how smart or accomplished--they cry, they yearn, they hurt. But instead of looking down on things, they look up, which is where I should have been looking, too. Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love and a peaceful heart.
There is a guilty conscience behind every brazen word and act and behind every manifestation of self-righteousness.
I started off believing all men were equal. I now know that's the most unlikely thing ever to have been... But by observation, reading, watching, arguing, asking, that is the conclusion I've come to.
How everything you ever love will reject you or die. Everything you ever create will be thrown away. Everything you're proud of will end up as trash.
Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger. We were strangers once, too.