Quote by Jean de La Fontaine

He knows the universe and does not know himself.

He knows the universe and does not know himself.

Summary

This quote expresses the idea that sometimes individuals possess vast knowledge about external things like the universe or the world around them, yet remain ignorant of their own selves. It highlights the paradox of individuals who may be well-informed about various subjects but lack self-awareness or understanding of their own strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears. It underscores the importance of introspection and self-reflection, suggesting that true knowledge should start from within before expanding to the external world.

Topics

Identity

By Jean de La Fontaine

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

Men will bear many things from a kept mistress, which they w

Men will bear many things from a kept mistress, which they would not bear from a wife.

Samuel Richardson

Men

He was a handsome man, not in the way of mercurial Cesare or

He was a handsome man, not in the way of mercurial Cesare or the false angel, Morozzi, but with a calm steadiness that sat well upon him and shown in everything he did. The creations he drew from fire and air were possessed of great delicacy, but I was coming to realize that the man himself was as an oak, unshakable in the greatest storm.

Men Beauty

I don't regard Brecht as a man of iron-gray purpose and inte

I don't regard Brecht as a man of iron-gray purpose and intellect, I think he is a theatrical whore of the first quality.

Authors & Writing

Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to

Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.

George Bernard Shaw

Experience

After my father had seen me in five or six things, he said,

After my father had seen me in five or six things, he said, Son, your mother and I really enjoyed your recent film, and I must say that you're a lot like John Wayne. And I said, How so? And he said, Well, you're exactly the same in all your roles. Now, as a modern American actor, that's not what you want to hear. But for a guy who watched John Wayne movies and grew up in Iowa, it's a sterling compliment.

Dermot Mulroney

Praise

Plus, I love comic writing. Nothing satisfies me more than f

Plus, I love comic writing. Nothing satisfies me more than finding a funny way to phrase something.

Funny

All I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like

All I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like, as well as what I read about the famine. But you get there and it's another world. It's filled with art and music and poetry and intellectuals and writers - all kinds of people.

Poetry

Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation

Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions.

Royalty Kings

I'm a movie nut. I go to the movies probably twice a week, a

I'm a movie nut. I go to the movies probably twice a week, and if I'm not doing anything at night, I'm usually watching a movie or two.

Dominic Monaghan

Movies

You only have power over people so long as you don't take ev

You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything he's no longer in your power -- he's free again.

Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

What's the world's greatest lie?... It's this: that at a cer

What's the world's greatest lie?... It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.

Inspirational

I don't want Church to be like all those dead pets! she burs

I don't want Church to be like all those dead pets! she burst out, suddenly tearful and furious. I don't want Church to ever be dead! He's my cat! He's not God's cat! Let God have all the damn old cats He wants, and kill them all! Church is mine!

Sad