Careful Words

knowledge (n.)

knowledge (v.)

But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page,

Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;

Chill penury repress'd their noble rage,

And froze the genial current of the soul.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 13.

  Knowledge and timber should n't be much used till they are seasoned.

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894): The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. vi.

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,

Till thou applaud the deed.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Macbeth. Act iii. Sc. 2.

Thus with the year

Seasons return; but not to me returns

Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,

Or sight of vernal bloom or summer's rose,

Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine;

But cloud instead, and ever-during dark

Surrounds me; from the cheerful ways of men

Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair

Presented with a universal blank

Of Nature's works, to me expung'd and raz'd,

And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out.

John Milton (1608-1674): Paradise Lost. Book iii. Line 40.

Knowledge by suffering entereth,

And life is perfected by death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1809-1861): A Vision of Poets. Conclusion.

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892): Locksley Hall. Line 141.

  Diffused knowledge immortalizes itself.

Sir James Mackintosh (1765-1832): Vindiciae Gallicae.

  A circulating library in a town is as an evergreen tree of diabolical knowledge.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816): The Rivals. Act iii. Sc. 1.

For I say this is death and the sole death,—

When a man's loss comes to him from his gain,

Darkness from light, from knowledge ignorance,

And lack of love from love made manifest.

Robert Browning (1812-1890): A Death in the Desert.

  To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.

Benjamin Disraeli (Earl Beaconsfield) (1805-1881): Sybil. Book i. Chap. v.

Let knowledge grow from more to more.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892): In Memoriam. Prologue. Line 25.

  He that hath knowledge spareth his words.

Old Testament: Proverbs xvii. 27.

  He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Old Testament: Ecclesiastes i. 18.

  A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Old Testament: Proverbs xxiv. 5.

  The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Of Goodness.

  It [angling] deserves commendations; . . . it is an art worthy the knowledge and practice of a wise man.

Izaak Walton (1593-1683): The Complete Angler. Part i. Chap. 1.

  Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784): Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. ix.

That virtue only makes our bliss below,

And all our knowledge is ourselves to know.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Essay on Man. Epistle iv. Line 397.

  Knowledge is power.—Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Meditationes Sacrae. De Haeresibus.

Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much;

Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.

Books are not seldom talismans and spells.

William Cowper (1731-1800): The Task. Book vi. Winter Walk at Noon. Line 96.

  He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge; and one only evil, namely, ignorance.

Diogenes Laertius (Circa 200 a d): Socrates. xiv.

  Knowledge is the only fountain both of the love and the principles of human liberty.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852): Completion of Bunker Hill Monument, June 17, 1843. P. 93.

  Knowledge of divine things for the most part, as Heraclitus says, is lost to us by incredulity.

Plutarch (46(?)-120(?) a d): Life of Coriolanus.

  Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the world. Like a great rough diamond, it may do very well in a closet by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value.

Earl Of Chesterfield (1694-1773): Letter, July 1, 1748.

  Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784): Rasselas. Chap. xiii.

  He multiplieth words without knowledge.

Old Testament: Job xxxv. 16.

  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

Old Testament: Psalm xix. 2.

  A zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

New Testament: Romans x. 2.

  Knowledge of divine things for the most part, as Heraclitus says, is lost to us by incredulity.

Plutarch (46(?)-120(?) a d): Life of Coriolanus.

  Alexander said, "I assure you I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion."

Plutarch (46(?)-120(?) a d): Life of Alexander.

Others abide our question. Thou art free.

We ask and ask. Thou smilest and art still,

Out-topping knowledge.

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888): Shakespeare.

  Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Old Testament: Daniel xii. 4.

  The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Old Testament: Isaiah xi. 2.

  Sweet food of sweetly uttered knowledge.

Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586): Defence of Poesy.

  Knowledge is the only fountain both of the love and the principles of human liberty.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852): Completion of Bunker Hill Monument, June 17, 1843. P. 93.

There taught us how to live; and (oh, too high

The price for knowledge!) taught us how to die.

Thomas Tickell (1686-1740): On the Death of Mr. Addison. Line 81.

Oh, be wiser thou!

Instructed that true knowledge leads to love.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850): Lines left upon a Seat in a Yew-tree.

  Pursuit of knowledge under difficulties.

Lord Brougham (1779-1868):

In vain sedate reflections we would make

When half our knowledge we must snatch, not take.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744): Moral Essays. Epistle i. Line 39.