Quote#Wisdom
A man who does not know what has been thought by those who have gone…
Quote byMark Pattison · 1813–1884
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Memoirs (1885), Chapter I, p. 78.
English (original)
A man who does not know what has been thought by those who have gone before him is sure to set an undue value upon his own ideas—ideas which have perhaps been tried and found wanting. As accumulated learning stifles the mental powers, so original thinking has been known to bring about a puffy, unsubstantial mental condition.
— Mark Pattison
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