Thomas Bulfinch Quotes

Knowledge is that which benefits, not that which is memorized

The accumulation of cultural capital - the acquisition of knowledge - is the key to social mobility.

Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.

Some things that are true are not very useful.

Get place and wealth, if possible with grace; if not, by any means get wealth and place.

At dinner parties I sit below the salt now. There are a lot of interesting people there.

The idea that myth is the opposite of knowledge, or the opposite of truth, is simply to disallow it. It is like saying poetry is the opposite of truth.

A theory has only the alternative of being right or wrong. A model has a third possibility: it may be right, but irrelevant.

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.

Women like signs of money and education - things that indicate that not only is this guy going to have some resources, but he's also willing to share them.

Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.

My favourite poem is the one that starts 'Thirty days hath September' because it actually tells you something.

In Europe, you would almost never have people with large amounts of income being happy with a two-volume vehicle like a hatchback or a minivan. They want to structurally show their societal position, which is why three volumes are so popular. They show 'I'm part of that hierarchy.'

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

A chair's function is not just to provide a place to sit; it is to provide a medium for self-expression. Chairs are about status, for example. Or signalling something about oneself. That's why the words chair, seat and bench have found themselves used to describe high status professions, from academia to Parliament to the law.

America focuses on being very intelligent because that's how you make more money.

Class is more than money. Class is also about knowledge.

Books should to one of these fours ends conduce, for wisdom, piety, delight, or use.

The meaning or value of a thing consists of what it affords.

Advise not on what is pleasant, but what is most useful.

The Knowledge of Nature tends to enlarge the human Mind, and give us more noble, more grand, and exalted Ideas of the Author of Nature, and if well pursu'd, seldom fails producing something useful to Man.

I came from an affluent family, am well-known and well-read.

I do speak well as I went to a posh school. But I come from no real breeding.

To use is necessary. And if you can't be used, then you're useless.