--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, if the principle of toleration were…" description: "\"Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that the great object is to read and enjoy a lang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg" --- # Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted… ![“Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that the great object is to read and enjoy a language, and the stress of the teaching were placed on the few things absolutely essential to this result, if the tortoise were allowed time to creep…” quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg) > “Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that the great object is to read and enjoy a language, and the stress of the teaching were placed on the few things absolutely essential to this result, if the tortoise were allowed time to creep, and the bird permitted to fly, and the fish to swim, towards the enchanted and divine sources of Helicon - all might in their own way arrive there, and rejoice in its flowers, its beauty, and its coolness.” [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates focusing education on essential language skills, allowing diverse learners to progress at their own pace. **In simple terms:** Teach core language basics, let learners explore freely. Key Takeaway Prioritize fundamentals, encourage individual growth. Themes education language toleration individuality Mood reflective inspirational Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - self‑directed study - literary appreciation Key Concepts pedagogy essentialism learning autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How can essentialism limit creativity? - What balance between core curriculum and exploration? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Classical education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical-education/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enchanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enchanted/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Toleration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toleration/) ## Related quotes > [“If a free people is going to be reproduced, it will require watering and revivifying and owning anew older traditions and awaking the curiosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/if-a-free-people-is-going-to-be-reproduced-it-will-require-watering/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [A classical education enables you to despise the wealth that it prevents you from achieving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-green/a-classical-education-enables-you-to-despise-the-wealth-that-it/) [Russell Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-green/) > [No, no," Mr. Darling always said, "I am responsible for it all. I, George Darling, did it. MEA CULPA, MEA CULPA." He had had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-no-mr-darling-always-said-i-am-responsible-for-it-all-i-george/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I feign knowledge of writing: that I know something about it, that I should have learned something after all these years, that I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/i-feign-knowledge-of-writing-that-i-know-something-about-it-that-i/) [Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/) > [Of course we had the best possible classical education, which gave us a very strong foundation and tradition. But we also learned a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luka-sulic/of-course-we-had-the-best-possible-classical-education-which-gave-us/) [Luka Sulic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luka-sulic/) > [Teaching is the last refuge of feeble minds with a classical education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/teaching-is-the-last-refuge-of-feeble-minds-with-a-classical-education/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Classical education was only half the old system of European education--below it and above it there was the religious education that was common to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-henry-dawson/classical-education-was-only-half-the-old-system-of-european/) [Christopher Henry Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-henry-dawson/) > [The advantage of a classical education is that it enables you to despise the wealth which it prevents you from achieving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-green/the-advantage-of-a-classical-education-is-that-it-enables-you-to/) [Russell Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-green/) > [“Nowadays it seems you learn only what is reasonable and relevant. I went to Rome with a young friend, educated on the latest lines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ellen-harrison/nowadays-it-seems-you-learn-only-what-is-reasonable-and-relevant-i/) [Jane Ellen Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ellen-harrison/) > [“Dave would marvel, “Do people not realize that they are living in the greater Renaissance? Could you imagine how much Isaac Newton would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-flynn/dave-would-marvel-do-people-not-realize-that-they-are-living-in-the/) [David Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-flynn/) > [“One of the perils of a classical education, he often reflected, was a predilection for vocabulary of an obfuscating nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-wiley/one-of-the-perils-of-a-classical-education-he-often-reflected-was-a/) Melissa Wiley > [“A classical education saves you from being fooled by pretentiousness, which is what most current fiction is too full of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-classical-education-saves-you-from-being-fooled-by-pretentiousness/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had artistic classical training, and when you learn the classics for so many years, you might gain audacity, power and confidence to subvert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuno-roque/i-had-artistic-classical-training-and-when-you-learn-the-classics-for/) Nuno Roque > [“When Alexander saw the depth of his empire he wept for there were no more worlds to concquer. Benefits of a classical education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-gruber/when-alexander-saw-the-depth-of-his-empire-he-wept-for-there-were-no/) Hans Gruber > [The notion that Nature does not proceed by jumps is only one of the budget of plausible lies that we call classical education. Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-notion-that-nature-does-not-proceed-by-jumps-is-only-one-of-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Harriet Beecher Stowe > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/i-wrote-what-i-did-because-as-a-woman-as-a-mother-i-was-oppressed-and/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [People who hate trouble generally get a good deal of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/people-who-hate-trouble-generally-get-a-good-deal-of-it/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Common sense is seeing things as they are; and doing things as they ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/common-sense-is-seeing-things-as-they-are-and-doing-things-as-they/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Love needs new leaves every summer of life, as much as your elm-tree, and new branches to grow broader and wider, and new flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/love-needs-new-leaves-every-summer-of-life-as-much-as-your-elm-tree/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [God has always been to me not so much like a father as like a dear and tender mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/god-has-always-been-to-me-not-so-much-like-a-father-as-like-a-dear/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [If I am to write, I must have a room to myself, which shall be my room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/if-i-am-to-write-i-must-have-a-room-to-myself-which-shall-be-my-room/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [The longest way must have its close - the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-longest-way-must-have-its-close-the-gloomiest-night-will-wear-on/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserved; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/home-is-a-place-not-only-of-strong-affections-but-of-entire/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I am speaking now of the highest duty we owe our friends, the noblest, the most sacred - that of keeping their own nobleness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/i-am-speaking-now-of-the-highest-duty-we-owe-our-friends-the-noblest/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [No ornament of a house can compare with books; they are constant company in a room, even when you are not reading them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/no-ornament-of-a-house-can-compare-with-books-they-are-constant/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [The greater the interest involved in a truth the more careful, self-distrustful, and patient should be the inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/the-greater-the-interest-involved-in-a-truth-the-more-careful-self/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [We can make ourselves say the kind things that rise in our hearts and tremble on our lips - do the gentle and helpful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/we-can-make-ourselves-say-the-kind-things-that-rise-in-our-hearts-and/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [It's a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-s-a-matter-of-taking-the-side-of-the-weak-against-the-strong/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [What's your hurry?" Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/what-s-your-hurry-because-now-is-the-only-time-there-ever-is-to-do-a/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) [Explore all 280 Harriet Beecher Stowe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that the great object is to read and enjoy a language, and the stress of the teaching were placed on the few things absolutely essential to this result, if the tortoise were allowed time to creep, and the bird permitted to fly, and the fish to swim, towards the enchanted and divine sources of Helicon - all might in their own way arrive there, and rejoice in its flowers, its beauty, and its coolness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harriet Beecher Stowe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were-once-admitted-into-classical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were-once-admitted-into-classical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_age_now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were_318646.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that…” — Harriet Beecher Stowe", "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": "Harriet Beecher Stowe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Now, if the principle of toleration...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were-once-admitted-into-classical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were-once-admitted-into-classical/#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 } } ] } ```