Sayings about Knowledge
You won’t gain knowledge by drinking ink. ~ Arabian Proverb
Knowledge is not the main thing, but deeds. ~ Sierra Leonean Proverb
If youth but had the knowledge and old age the strength. ~ French Proverb
He that is master of himself will soon be master of others. Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. With all your knowledge, know thyself. ~ English Proverb
Ask someone else for advice but keep your knowledge to yourself. ~ Hebrew Proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass. ~ Japanese Proverb
Knowledge acquired as a child is more lasting than an engraving on stone. ~ Arabian Proverb
Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested. ~ Guinean Proverb
You know, you teach. You do not know, you learn. ~ Lao Proverb
Every animal knows more than you do. ~ Native American Proverb
You don’t have to know much to read, but you do to cook. ~ Turkish Proverbs
Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools ever known were learned men. ~ Spanish Proverbs
Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse. ~ English Proverbs
Knowledge is rooted in all things – the world is a library. ~ Native American Proverb
Don’t talk too much, because your ignorance is greater than your knowledge. ~ Spanish Proverb
Knowledge, humbles a great person, astonishes the common, and puffs up the small. ~ Traditional Proverb
Doubt is the key to knowledge. ~ Arabian Proverb
Years know more than books. ~ American Proverbs
Knowledge is better than riches. ~ Cameroonian Proverbs
The knowledge of sin is the beginning of salvation. ~ Latin Proverbs
Search knowledge though it be in China. ~ Arabian Proverb
The wise man who does not put his knowledge into practice is like a bee that gives no honey. ~ Iranian Proverbs
God sells knowledge for labor — honor for risk. ~ Saudi Arabian Proverb
Knowledge is the mother of all virtue; all vice proceeds from ignorance. ~ Traditional Proverb
There are three “too much” and three “too little” that can bring a fool down: too much spending and too little money; too much talking and too little knowledge; and too much boasting and too little earnings. ~ Spanish Proverbs
Repetition is the mother of knowledge. ~ African Proverb
If you want to gather a lot of knowledge, act as if you are ignorant. ~ Vietnamese Proverbs
No one is without knowledge except he who asks no questions. ~ African Proverb
The supreme treasure is knowledge, the middle treasure is children, and the lowest treasure is material wealth. ~ Mongolian Proverb
Quotations about Knowledge
Knowledge becomes wisdom only after it has been put to practical use. ~ Author Unknown
Knowledge is that which, next to virtue, truly raises one person above another. ~ Joseph Addison
A true knowledge of ourselves is knowledge of our power. ~ Mark Rutherford
Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to a mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on a rock. ~ Mary Shelley
The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not in a closet. ~ Philip Dormer Stanhope
True knowledge lies in knowing how to live. ~ Baltasar Gracian
You have to live to really know things. ~ Dan Simmons
How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there’s no help in truth! ~ Sophocles
What is as important as knowledge? Caring, and seeing with the heart. ~ Author Unknown
Knowledge is twofold and consists not only in an affirmation of what is true, but in the negation of what is false. ~ Charles Caleb Colton
Without wisdom, knowledge is either useless or destructive. ~ Author Unknown
Knowledge and human power are synonymous. ~ Francis Bacon
Knowledge is the eye of desire and can become the pilot of the soul. ~ William J. Durant
Knowledge is the treasure, but judgment is the treasurer of the one who is wise. ~ William Penn
Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. ~ George Washington
Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes. ~ Peter F. Drucker
Knowledge is haunted by the ghost of past opinion. ~ Author Unknown
Knowledge shuts a man’s mouth. ~ Erwin Sylvanus
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. ~ Margaret Fuller
Knowledge of men is the prime secret of business success. ~ Darius Ogden Mills
A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. ~ Kahlil Gibran
The knowledge of God is far from the love of Him. ~ Keith Miller
Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. ~ Martin H. Fischer
Knowledge does not come to us in details, but in flashes of light from heaven. ~ Henry David Thoreau
Knowledge itself is power. ~ Francis Bacon
Knowledge is power. Rather, knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge — broad, deep knowledge — is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. ~ Helen Keller
The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance. ~ Confucius
The Royal Road to Knowledge, all may win, who seek the source of Life in everything. ~ Edwin Leibfreed
Few can tell what they know without also showing what they do not know. ~ Ivan Panin
As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it. ~ Albert Einstein
Knowledge is a mimic creation. ~ Horace Mann
Knowledge comes by eyes always open and working hands; and there is no knowledge that is not power. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Behind every success is endeavor…Behind endeavor, ability…Behind ability, knowledge…Behind knowledge, a seeker. ~ Author Unknown
The knowledge of useful things is a purse seldom lost. ~ Edward Counsel
Grace is given of God, but knowledge is bought in the market. ~ Arthur Hugh Clough
Imagination is more important than knowledge. ~ Albert Einstein
We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge. ~ Rutherford D. Roger
A society that fears knowledge is a society that fears itself. ~ Bernard Beckett
No man’s knowledge can go beyond his experience. ~ John Locke
Many people think of knowledge as money. They would like knowledge, but do not want to face the perseverance and self-denial that goes into the acquisition of it. ~ John Morely
Knowledge is of two kinds: We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information about it. ~ Samuel Johnson
Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it. ~ Thomas Fuller
Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be. ~ Albert Einstein
Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also. ~ Carl Jung
Knowledge will soon become folly, when good sense ceases to be its guardian. ~ Wellins Calcott
The tiny, initial clue … by allowing us to imagine what we do not know, stimulates a desire for knowledge. ~ Marcel Proust
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. ~ William Cowper
Knowledge fills a large brain; it merely inflates a small one. ~ Author Unknown
Knowledge is power, but enthusiasm pulls the switch. ~ Ivern Ball
The function of knowledge is to transcend earthly experience, not to wallow in it. ~ Susan Hubbard
Some people drink deeply from the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle. ~ Grant M. Bright
Knowledge is the small part of ignorance that we arrange and classify. ~ Ambrose Bierce
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. ~ Charles Caleb Colton
Knowledge is recognition of something absent; it is a salutation, not an embrace. ~ George Santayana
If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it. ~ Winston Churchill
Knowledge Proverbs and Their Meanings
The proverbs about knowledge collected above come from every corner of the world, yet they keep returning to a handful of truths: that knowledge is a treasure worth more than gold, that it is useless until it is put into practice, and that it is not the same thing as wisdom. Here are some of the most telling knowledge proverbs explained, so the lesson behind each one is clear.
- “Knowledge is better than riches” (Cameroonian) — what you learn is worth more than what you own, because money can be lost but knowledge stays with you.
- “The supreme treasure is knowledge” (Mongolian) — of all a person’s possessions, knowledge is the most valuable — above even children and wealth.
- “Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it” (English) — knowing something is worthless unless you actually use it; action unlocks the value of learning.
- “Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass” (Japanese) — facts without the judgement to use them well are just dead weight.
- “Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom” (Spanish) — you can study and become learned, yet still lack the good sense that makes knowledge worthwhile.
- “Doubt is the key to knowledge” (Arabian) — questioning and refusing to take things for granted is how real understanding begins.
- “No one is without knowledge except he who asks no questions” (African) — the only truly ignorant person is the one who never asks; curiosity is the path to learning.
- “Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested” (Guinean) — learning must be tended and worked at over time before it bears any fruit.
- “Repetition is the mother of knowledge” (African) — we master things by going over them again and again; practice fixes learning in the mind.
- “Knowledge acquired as a child is more lasting than an engraving on stone” (Arabian) — what we learn young stays with us most deeply, far longer than later learning.
- “Search knowledge though it be in China” (Arabian) — seek learning however far you must travel for it; no distance is too great for wisdom.
- “Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse” (English) — enthusiasm without understanding is dangerous; energy needs knowledge to steer it.
- “If you want to gather a lot of knowledge, act as if you are ignorant” (Vietnamese) — humility opens the door to learning; the person who thinks they know it all stops growing.
- “Knowledge is the mother of all virtue; all vice proceeds from ignorance” — understanding what is right is the root of doing right; much wrongdoing springs from not knowing better.
For the deeper sense behind facts and learning, see our wisdom proverbs; for sayings on living well, browse life proverbs, or explore the full library of proverbs and their meanings.
Knowledge Proverbs — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most famous proverb about knowledge?
The most famous is “knowledge is power” — meaning that understanding gives you the ability to act and shape your circumstances. Folk proverbs add that “knowledge is better than riches.”
What do proverbs say about knowledge and wisdom?
Many warn that the two are not the same: “knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass,” and “men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom.” Knowledge is facts; wisdom is knowing how to use them.
What is a proverb about the value of knowledge?
“Knowledge is better than riches” (Cameroonian) and “the supreme treasure is knowledge” (Mongolian) both place learning above material wealth as life’s greatest possession.
What does “knowledge is power” mean?
It means that the more you understand, the more able you are to act effectively, make good decisions, and control your own circumstances — information itself is a form of strength.