All quotes

No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.”

Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.

It is not always recognized that the work itself is a great educator, and that acute cleverness in the line of work to which he is fitted comes to the worker.

These possibilities of mental development are still further increased when the man makes his own records. This leads to closer attention, to more interest in the work, and to a realization of the man as to what the record really means, and what value it represents.

We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.

He who experiments must, while doing so, divest himself of every preconception.

The fundamental principle of scientific pedagogy must be, indeed, the liberty of the pupil;--such liberty as shall permit a development of individual, spontaneous manifestations of the child's nature.

They may be truths to me, but don’t think that that makes them mine… because you can’t own a truth.

There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy, than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.

All sincere and earnest search after truth, even where it fails to reach it, yet, often comes so near to it, that other minds more happily situated may be led, by pointing out its very limitations and errors, to obtain a larger view.

the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market

But music never has to depend upon any obvious meaning; it expresses what no words can ever express.

For joy is knowledge in its completeness, it is knowing by our whole being.

For we never can make anything our own except that which is truly related to us.

The meaning of the living words that come out of the experiences of great hearts can never be exhausted by any one system of logical interpretation.

the true realism, always and everywhere, is that of the poets: to find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing

The goal of mankind is knowledge. That is the one ideal placed before us by Eastern philosophy.

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.

Ignorance is visited as sharply as wilful disobedience

In short, all artificial education ought to be an anticipation of natural education.

The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature.

Well, what I mean by Education is learning the rules of this mighty game.

Every fact we learn leads us to the learning of another fact; knowledge is continually increasing.

Every thought we think makes it necessary for us to think another thought; consciousness is continually expanding.