Erudition without pedantry is as a rare as wisdom itself.

“I am alive to a usual objection to what is clearly part of my programme for the metier of poetry. The objection is that…

— T.S. Eliot

The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.

— Norm MacDonald

Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a…

— Agnes Repplier

We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some…

— Ihab Hassan

Even in an advanced stage of civilization, there is always a tendency to prefer those parts of literature which favor ancient prejudices, rather than…

— Henry Thomas Buckle

Read for yourselves, read for the sake of your inspiration, for the sweet turmoil in your lovely head. But also read against yourselves, read…

— Adam Zagajewski

These poems possess intelligence, erudition, gravitas and urgency. Serious and moving in voice and ambition, this passionately lyrical and articulate work reminds me very…

— Tony Hoagland

Literature has her quacks no less than medicine, and they are divided into two classes; those who have erudition without genius, and those who…

— Charles Caleb Colton

You have overburdened your argument with ostentatious erudition.

— David McCullough

If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud…

— Bodhidharma

“For some people, 'erudition' is nothing more than a vehicle for hostility and arrogance; 'good taste' merely an excuse for condescension--or worse, censorship --…

— Alice Kimberly

Don’t you love quotations? I am immensely fond of them; a certain proof of erudition… [I]f you should happen to write an insipid poem...…

— Frances Brooke

I have respect for mother nature's methods of robustness (billions of years allow most of what is fragile to break); classical thought is more…

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb

When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness,…

— Chinua Achebe

Critics have found in the narrative a veneer of erudition that cloaks nothing more than a James Bond-style romp, albeit a highly addictive one.…

— Dan Brown