The Quotes canon
Sourced and curated.
Every quote has been curated by hand and carefully authenticated.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Curiosity25 quotes
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. — Socrates · 400 BCAll men by nature desire to know. — Aristotle · 322 BCCuriosity...is a Lust of the mind. — Thomas Hobbes · 1651Ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies. — Charles Dickens · 1860It is useful to distinguish among four factors which give importance, urgency, and inevitability to the advancement of space technology. The first of these factors is the compelling urge of man to explore and to discover, the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where no one has gone before. — James R. Killian · 1958Stay hungry, stay foolish. — Steve Jobs · 1974All 25 quotes →Seeking3 quotes
The gods did not intimate all things to men straight away, but in time, through seeking, their discoveries improve. — XenophanesBut not knowing is not so bad. I mean, the point is to be looking, searching. To stay hungry, right? — Celine · 2013My life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I am nowhere near having achieved that. And it doesn’t bother me in the least. — Alex Trebek · 2020Exploration2 quotes
Stay hungry, stay foolish. — Steve Jobs · 1974We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. — T.S. Eliot · 1942Human nature2 quotes
All men by nature desire to know. — Aristotle · 322 BCIt is useful to distinguish among four factors which give importance, urgency, and inevitability to the advancement of space technology. The first of these factors is the compelling urge of man to explore and to discover, the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where no one has gone before. — James R. Killian · 1958Knowledge2 quotes
All men by nature desire to know. — Aristotle · 322 BCMy life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I am nowhere near having achieved that. And it doesn’t bother me in the least. — Alex Trebek · 2020Philosophy2 quotes
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. — Socrates · 400 BCWonder... And not any expectation of advantage from its discoveries, is the first principle which prompts mankind to the study of Philosophy, of that science which pretends to lay open the concealed connections that unite the various appearances of nature. — Adam Smith · 1790Progress2 quotes
Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the life-blood of real civilization. — G.M. Trevelyan · 1942The gods did not intimate all things to men straight away, but in time, through seeking, their discoveries improve. — XenophanesWonder2 quotes
Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder. — Socrates · 400 BCWonder... And not any expectation of advantage from its discoveries, is the first principle which prompts mankind to the study of Philosophy, of that science which pretends to lay open the concealed connections that unite the various appearances of nature. — Adam Smith · 1790Appearance vs. reality1 quote
Do not be arrogant because of your knowledge, but confer with the ignorant man as with the learned... Good speech is more hidden than malachite, yet it is found in the possession of women slaves at the millstones. — Ptahhotep · 2375 BCCensorship1 quote
Censorship of any form punishes curiosity. — Sherman Alexie · 2012Climbing mountains1 quote
Today I climbed the highest mountain in this region, which is not improperly called Ventosus (Windy). The only motive for my ascent was the wish to see what so great a height had to offer. — Petrarch · 1336Discovery1 quote
The gods did not intimate all things to men straight away, but in time, through seeking, their discoveries improve. — XenophanesDiversity of opinion1 quote
Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making. — John Milton · 1644Following your heart1 quote
Stay hungry, stay foolish. — Steve Jobs · 1974God and man1 quote
The gods did not intimate all things to men straight away, but in time, through seeking, their discoveries improve. — XenophanesIntellectual ambition1 quote
I have taken all knowledge to be my province. — Francis Bacon · 1591Learning from others1 quote
Do not be arrogant because of your knowledge, but confer with the ignorant man as with the learned... Good speech is more hidden than malachite, yet it is found in the possession of women slaves at the millstones. — Ptahhotep · 2375 BCLong life1 quote
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways. — Edith Wharton · 1934Mountains1 quote
Today I climbed the highest mountain in this region, which is not improperly called Ventosus (Windy). The only motive for my ascent was the wish to see what so great a height had to offer. — Petrarch · 1336Openness to change1 quote
In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways. — Edith Wharton · 1934Questions1 quote
Ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies. — Charles Dickens · 1860Space travel1 quote
It is useful to distinguish among four factors which give importance, urgency, and inevitability to the advancement of space technology. The first of these factors is the compelling urge of man to explore and to discover, the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where no one has gone before. — James R. Killian · 1958The human condition1 quote
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy. — Steven Weinberg · 1977The universe1 quote
The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy. — Steven Weinberg · 1977Travel1 quote
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. — T.S. Eliot · 1942Uncertainty1 quote
But not knowing is not so bad. I mean, the point is to be looking, searching. To stay hungry, right? — Celine · 2013Wisdom1 quote
My life has been a quest for knowledge and understanding, and I am nowhere near having achieved that. And it doesn’t bother me in the least. — Alex Trebek · 2020