Elihu Burritt Quotes

When house and land are gone and spent, then learning is most excellent.

No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.

There is no greater wealth than wisdom, no greater poverty than ignorance; no greater heritage than culture and no greater support than consultation.

I believe that when an elder dies, a library is burned: vast sums of wisdom and knowledge are lost. Throughout the world libraries are ablaze with scant attention.

I would rather be poor in a cottage full of books than a king without the desire to read.

A library implies an act of faith.

A man's real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor.

Without books, we might just melt into the airwaves and be just another set of blips.

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him.

When Honor's sun declines, and Wealth takes wings, Then Learning shines, the best of precious things.

Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years.

Knowledge is capital.

The most valuable wealth of a man is his knowledge, which cannot be destroyed; all other riches that he has gained are not considered to be wealth at all.

Wisdom and knowledge are the most valuable things in the body.

Every burned book enlightens the world.

Money can be taken away from you, by the IRS or by pistol. That's why I always measure riches in terms of wisdom. No one can ever take from you what you know.

Knowledge is the only thing I take with me when I go.

There are treasures in books that all the money in the world cannot buy, but the poorest laborer can have for nothing.

If you do not value libraries then you do not value information or culture or wisdom. You are silencing the voices of the past and you are damaging the future.

The wealth of mankind is the wisdom they leave.

Insignificant, is the loss of relatives, wealth and fame; The loss of wisdom is the greatest loss. Insignificant, is the increase of relatives, wealth and fame; The increase of wisdom is the highest gain. Therefore, you should train yourselves thus: "We will grow in the increase of wisdom" Thus you should train yourselves.

Your intelligence often bears the same relation to your heart as the library of a chateau does to its owner.

Libraries are the torch of the world, illuminating the path when it feels too dark to see. We mustn't allow that torch to be extinguished.

Uneducated people are unfortunate in that they do grasp complex issues, educated people, on the other hand, often do not understand simplicity, which is a far greater misfortune.

It can be tempting to blame others for our loss of direction. We get lots of information about life but little education in life from parents, teachers, and other authority figures who should know better from their experience. Information is about facts. Education is about wisdom and the knowledge of how to love and survive.