"The arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth"
- Edmund Burke
About this Quote
This quote by Edmund Burke speaks to the concept that age does not always relate to knowledge. Burke recommends that even those who are older and more knowledgeable should be open to learning from those who are more youthful. He indicates that age needs to not be a barrier to knowing, which even the most knowledgeable must want to accept recommendations and guidance from those who are more youthful. This quote motivates humbleness and respect for the understanding and experience of any ages, regardless of age. It also functions as a tip that age does not constantly relate to knowledge, which it is necessary to stay open to learning from those who may be more youthful than us. Ultimately, this quote motivates us to be modest and to recognize the worth of knowledge and experience from all ages.
"Sometimes a neighbor whom we have disliked a lifetime for his arrogance and conceit lets fall a single commonplace remark that shows us another side, another man, really; a man uncertain, and puzzled, and in the dark like ourselves"
"I would like to see us get this place right first before we have the arrogance to put significantly flawed civilizations out onto other planets, even though they may be utterly uninhabited"
"The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous convictions about our centrality in the cosmos"