J. M. Coetzee Quotes

O be very sure That no man will learn anything at all, Unless he first will learn humility.

As we strive to teach others we must have the humility to acknowledge that we too still have much to learn.

Teach thy tongue to say 'I do not know', and thou shalt progress.

I'm sure that I don't know everything I want to know. I have so much more to learn.

My mind is just a product of 50 years of being taught. I'm no smarter than anyone else, but I've been taught by some wonderful people.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

Who can teach when there are such lessons to be learned

Humility is the first step towards learning. You can’t learn until you are humble enough to realize there is something for you to learn.

The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me?

It is necessary to be humble in order to learn.

Learning is the very essence of humility . . .

Don't be too proud to take lessons. I'm not.

And I like asking questions, to keep learning; people with big egos might not want to look unsure.

If you are not egotistical, you will welcome the opportunity to learn more.

I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences... I'm human, not perfect, like anybody else.

Whether it's 18 years old or 40 years old, we think we know what's going on. But if you're lucky enough to continue the journey, its amazing how we keep learning how much we didn't know.

I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there.

Seriously I suspected I was a good actor, though I didn't know it during 'Monsoon Wedding.' Now I realize the more I learn, the less I know about acting... and life.

The brighter you are, the more you have to learn.

Success is a wonderful thing, but it tends not to be the sort of experience that we learn from. We enjoy it; perhaps we even deserve it. But we don't acquire wisdom from it.

A college education shows a man how little other people know.

Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.

I just don't take myself as seriously anymore. But as a result of that, I am taking myself more seriously. My ego has gone on holiday, and it can't get a flight back home.

Wisdom may best arise from a humbling reality.

The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance.