--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and…" description: "\"Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they have made considerable progress in learning when they have once overcome these; yet in reality ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png" --- # Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they… ![“Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they have made considerable progress in learning when they have once overcome these; yet in reality there is no internal worth in them, and men may understand a thousand languages without being the wiser.” quote by E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png) > “Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they have made considerable progress in learning when they have once overcome these; yet in reality there is no internal worth in them, and men may understand a thousand languages without being the wiser.” [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language proficiency does not guarantee deeper insight; true wisdom lies beyond mere verbal skill. **In simple terms:** Words alone don’t equal wisdom. Key Takeaway Skill in speech can mask ignorance. Themes knowledge vs. communication humility learning limits wisdom self-deception Mood reflective skeptical Type aphorism philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - multilingual business negotiations - traveling abroad - online forums Key Concepts language cognition epistemology Practical Applications - critical thinking training - cross‑cultural communication workshops Questions to Reflect On - How do we assess true understanding beyond language? - When might linguistic mastery be misleading? A Different Perspective Some argue that language expands thought, but the quote stresses that fluency can be superficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Memphis and I both looked at Olaf, as if he'd spoken in tongues. I think neither of us had expected anything useful from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/memphis-and-i-both-looked-at-olaf-as-if-he-d-spoken-in-tongues-i/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“They all said that they could not do it either, but they did; that is what made them so great. They did not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenelle-leanne-schmidt/they-all-said-that-they-could-not-do-it-either-but-they-did-that-is/) [Jenelle Leanne Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenelle-leanne-schmidt/) > [Some women do not know what they are worth and some men do not know what they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-women-do-not-know-what-they-are-worth-and-some-men-do-not-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no readier way for a man to bring his own worth into question than by endeavoring to detract from the worth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/there-is-no-readier-way-for-a-man-to-bring-his-own-worth-into/) [John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/) > [“Women, because what are they worth? Men, because what are they worth? Music, because what is it worth? and, more importantly with music, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-cohen/women-because-what-are-they-worth-men-because-what-are-they-worth/) Joshua Cohen > [A man who can speak two languages is worth two men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-man-who-can-speak-two-languages-is-worth-two-men/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Yet gold all is not, that doth gold seem, Nor all good knights, that shake well spear and shield: The worth of all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/yet-gold-all-is-not-that-doth-gold-seem-nor-all-good-knights-that/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“I guess it’s true: it’s difficult for men to understand women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santonu-kumar-dhar/i-guess-it-s-true-it-s-difficult-for-men-to-understand-women/) [Santonu Kumar Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santonu-kumar-dhar/) > [Theology is an attempt to explain a subject by men who do not understand it. The intent is not to tell the truth but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/theology-is-an-attempt-to-explain-a-subject-by-men-who-do-not/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The man who can put himself in the place of other men, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/the-man-who-can-put-himself-in-the-place-of-other-men-who-can/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [Men will not understand … that when they fulfil their duties to men, they fulfil thereby God's commandments; that they are consequently always in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/men-will-not-understand-that-when-they-fulfil-their-duties-to-men/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [It is false to suggest that men must turn away from his desires in the interest of a higher duty. Men only responds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-is-false-to-suggest-that-men-must-turn-away-from-his-desires-in/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All men can understand what representation is; and that it must necessarily include a variety of knowledge and talents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/all-men-can-understand-what-representation-is-and-that-it-must/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [All strife concerning Christ's testaments cometh hence that men do not understand that Heaven wherein Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/all-strife-concerning-christ-s-testaments-cometh-hence-that-men-do/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [We are different. We are equal in every way but our voices are important to each other and our need to want to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/we-are-different-we-are-equal-in-every-way-but-our-voices-are/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) ## More by E.D. Baker > [“Before Annie could answer, he was there, hugging her until her ribs ached and kissing her so hard that her lips felt bruised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/before-annie-could-answer-he-was-there-hugging-her-until-her-ribs/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“trembling copse of young saplings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/trembling-copse-of-young-saplings/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“When he was finished, Annie caught up her hair in the band again and turned to smile at him. “I wish you would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/when-he-was-finished-annie-caught-up-her-hair-in-the-band-again-and/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [I'd always wanted to believe that my ancestors were better people than they probably were. - Princess Emma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/i-d-always-wanted-to-believe-that-my-ancestors-were-better-people/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“The tinkle of wind chimes announcing the return of our fairy guests made us both look up. Our chance to be alone was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/the-tinkle-of-wind-chimes-announcing-the-return-of-our-fairy-guests/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“Who would have thought that a human and a dragon could make such a perfect match?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/who-would-have-thought-that-a-human-and-a-dragon-could-make-such-a/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“You bet it is!” Norelle exclaimed. “Now follow me and we’ll be there before you can say my full name backward five times!” “But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/you-bet-it-is-norelle-exclaimed-now-follow-me-and-we-ll-be-there/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“spoiled rotten,” said Beldegard. “Prince Ainsley is our”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/spoiled-rotten-said-beldegard-prince-ainsley-is-our/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“We're engaged to be engaged, aren't we?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/we-re-engaged-to-be-engaged-aren-t-we/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [Your father is the first person to tell me that I am lovely who seemed to mean it. The only people who've told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/your-father-is-the-first-person-to-tell-me-that-i-am-lovely-who/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“Although both annie and liam were ready to leave early the next morning, they had to wait for Prince Andreas, who was still sleeping.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/although-both-annie-and-liam-were-ready-to-leave-early-the-next/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [“Ting-Tang stopped moving, although he did turn his head to look at Audun. “You’ve really never eaten anyone?” “Never!” said Audun. “My wife would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/ting-tang-stopped-moving-although-he-did-turn-his-head-to-look-at/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [Unfortunately being born princess doesn't autimatically make a girl graceful or confident, a fact I've lamented for most of my fourteen years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/unfortunately-being-born-princess-doesn-t-autimatically-make-a-girl/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [Love doesn't work that way. You don't meet one day and kiss and see sparkles the next. Real love takes time. They need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/love-doesn-t-work-that-way-you-don-t-meet-one-day-and-kiss-and-see/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [Without my protectionm your journey is doomed before you begin.' Great! I thought. Even the snake is a critic!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/without-my-protectionm-your-journey-is-doomed-before-you-begin-great/) [E.D. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) [Explore all 24 E.D. Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) ## More Internals quotes > [I have three words for you," EMT Guy said. "Possible internal bleeding." I turned back to him. "Don't you think if I was bleeding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-have-three-words-for-you-emt-guy-said-possible-internal-bleeding-i/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Funny how internal scars never healed. They were the souvenirs of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/funny-how-internal-scars-never-healed-they-were-the-souvenirs-of-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The internal peace of every country depends upon the knowledge that force is available to uphold law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/the-internal-peace-of-every-country-depends-upon-the-knowledge-that/) [Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-grey-1st-viscount-grey-of-fallodon/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [And I could see his internal struggle become an all out war. "It wouldn't have made a difference. Not with Adrian involved," he said……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/and-i-could-see-his-internal-struggle-become-an-all-out-war-it-wouldn/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [What we still designate as chance, merely depends on a concatenation of circumstances, the internal connection and final causes of which we have as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-buchner/what-we-still-designate-as-chance-merely-depends-on-a-concatenation/) [Ludwig Buchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-buchner/) > [Peace is more of an internal settlement rather than what is visible on the external.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/peace-is-more-of-an-internal-settlement-rather-than-what-is-visible/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Managing our emotions increases intuition and clarity. It helps us self-regulate our brain chemicals and internal hormones. It gives us natural highs, the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-childre/managing-our-emotions-increases-intuition-and-clarity-it-helps-us/) [Doc Childre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-childre/) > [Gentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-gorbachev/gentlemen-comrades-do-not-be-concerned-about-all-you-hear-about/) [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-gorbachev/) > [Language would have evolved first as an internal object, a kind of "language of thought" (LOT), with externalisation (hence communication) an ancillary process. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/language-would-have-evolved-first-as-an-internal-object-a-kind-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) Browse all 1,064 Internals quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they have made considerable progress in learning when they have once overcome these; yet in reality there is no internal worth in them, and men may understand a thousand languages without being the wiser.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.D. Baker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and-to-think-they-have-made/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Internals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and-to-think-they-have-made/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/e-d-baker-24728_internals_men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and_85112.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men are apt to overvalue the tongues, and to think they have made considerable progress in learning when…” — E.D. Baker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "E.D. Baker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men are apt to overvalue the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and-to-think-they-have-made/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-d-baker/men-are-apt-to-overvalue-the-tongues-and-to-think-they-have-made/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```