"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle"
About this Quote
The phrasing rigs the comparison. “Little” versus “much” sounds like a contest of quantity, then Gibran flips the scoreboard by introducing a moral variable: action. “Idle” is the dagger word. It makes unused knowledge feel not neutral but negligent, like leaving medicine locked in a cabinet during an emergency. The “infinitely more” is deliberate exaggeration, a prophetic flourish that turns a practical tip into a value system: any insight that moves through the body and into the world outranks libraries that never leave the mind.
Context matters. Writing in the early 20th century, between empires collapsing and new nations forming, Gibran watched modernity produce more information, more institutions, more “civilization” - and still plenty of cruelty and emptiness. His broader project (especially in The Prophet) insists that wisdom is lived, not merely possessed. The subtext is a quiet indictment of elites and armchair moralists: if your knowledge doesn’t make you kinder, braver, or more useful, it’s not wisdom; it’s clutter with good grammar.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
|---|---|
| Source | Unverified source: The Voice of the Master (Kahlil Gibran, 1958)
Evidence: Chapter/section: "Of Reason and Knowledge" (exact page varies by edition). The earliest identifiable primary publication that consistently gets attached to this exact wording is the English translation volume "The Voice of the Master" (translated from Arabic by Anthony R. Ferris), first published... Other candidates (2) The Master Plan: Ten Secrets to Success (Dr. John Louis Slack, 2012) compilation95.0% ... A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle . ” -Kahlil Gibran Knowled... Kahlil Gibran (Kahlil Gibran) compilation34.6% nt i wear a carewoven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence the i in m |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gibran, Kahlil. (2026, January 14). A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-little-knowledge-that-acts-is-worth-infinitely-32304/
Chicago Style
Gibran, Kahlil. "A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-little-knowledge-that-acts-is-worth-infinitely-32304/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-little-knowledge-that-acts-is-worth-infinitely-32304/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.












