I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
True scholarship consists in knowing not what things exist, but what they mean; it is not memory but judgment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True scholarship goes beyond memorization and focuses on understanding the significance of knowledge.
James Russell Lowell emphasizes that genuine scholarship is not about merely recalling facts, but about comprehending their implications and meanings. It highlights the importance of judgment and critical thinking over rote learning, suggesting that true intellectual engagement involves deep analysis and reflection on the knowledge we acquire.
Themes
ScholarshipEducationUnderstandingKnowledgeJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture to highlight the importance of critical thinking in education.
More from James Russell Lowell
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Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
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Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
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Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
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Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
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