--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Both poetry and philosophy are prodigal…" description: "\"Both poetry and philosophy are prodigal of eulogy over the mind which ransoms itself by its own energy from a captivity to custom, which breaks the com..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/horace-mann-2022_bounds_both-poetry-and-philosophy-are-prodigal_2269928.jpg" --- # Both poetry and philosophy are prodigal of eulogy over the… ![“Both poetry and philosophy are prodigal of eulogy over the mind which ransoms itself by its own energy from a captivity to custom, which breaks the common bounds of empire, and cuts a Simplon over mountains of difficulty for its own purposes, whether of good or of evil.” quote by Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/horace-mann-2022_bounds_both-poetry-and-philosophy-are-prodigal_2269928.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/horace-mann-2022_bounds_both-poetry-and-philosophy-are-prodigal_2269928.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3dc/horace-mann-2022_bounds_both-poetry-and-philosophy-are-prodigal_2269928.jpg) > “Both poetry and philosophy are prodigal of eulogy over the mind which ransoms itself by its own energy from a captivity to custom, which breaks the common bounds of empire, and cuts a Simplon over mountains of difficulty for its own purposes, whether of good or of evil.” [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry and philosophy free the mind from conventional constraints, enabling both good and evil. **In simple terms:** Creative thought breaks norms. Key Takeaway Encourage free thinking. Themes creativity philosophy education Mood inspirational cautionary Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - classroom - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts critical thinking intellectual freedom Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance freedom and responsibility? - What safeguards protect against misuse? A Different Perspective Unrestricted thought can lead to harmful ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Captivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captivity/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Empires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empires/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Eulogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eulogy/) [Eulogy Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eulogy-mind-5256674/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Prodigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-prodigal-5256672/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-philosophy-310221/) [Prodigal Eulogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigal-eulogy-5256673/) [Prodigals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigals/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Ransom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ransom/) ## Related quotes > [Like contemporary poetry, philosophy is one of those things, especially at the beginning stages, most people would rather do than study - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/like-contemporary-poetry-philosophy-is-one-of-those-things-especially/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [In Dogen's writing, the practical instruction, philosophy and poetry are together in one voice. People hear about his poetry, go to his work, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuaki-tanahashi/in-dogen-s-writing-the-practical-instruction-philosophy-and-poetry/) [Kazuaki Tanahashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuaki-tanahashi/) > [Poetry is to philosophy what the Sabbath is to the rest of the week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/poetry-is-to-philosophy-what-the-sabbath-is-to-the-rest-of-the-week/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [When I speak of poetry I am not thinking of it as a genre. 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But philosophy is the tool with which to seek and discover religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/he-who-has-religion-will-speak-poetry-but-philosophy-is-the-tool-with/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [I have no patience with this dreadful idea that whatever you have in you has to come out, that you can't suppress true talent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-have-no-patience-with-this-dreadful-idea-that-whatever-you-have-in/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [History, at least in its ideal state of perfection, is a compound of poetry and philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-rothschild-1st-baron-rothschild/history-at-least-in-its-ideal-state-of-perfection-is-a-compound-of/) [Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-rothschild-1st-baron-rothschild/) > [Every age must look for its sanction to its poetry and philosophy, for in these the human mind, as it looks backward or forward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/every-age-must-look-for-its-sanction-to-its-poetry-and-philosophy-for/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“It was Plato who bridged the gap between poetry and philosophy; for, in his work, appearance, despised by his Eleatic and Sophist predecessors, became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-auerbach/it-was-plato-who-bridged-the-gap-between-poetry-and-philosophy-for-in/) [Erich Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-auerbach/) > [Poetry and philosophy will become friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/poetry-and-philosophy-will-become-friends/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Poetry, philosophy, and physics all teach us that we don’t experience time in equal increments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/poetry-philosophy-and-physics-all-teach-us-that-we-don-t-experience/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, to life itself, than this incessant business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-think-that-there-is-nothing-not-even-crime-more-opposed-to-poetry/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Horace Mann > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [The earth endured Christ's ministry only three years;--not three weeks after his real character and purposes were generally known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-earth-endured-christ-s-ministry-only-three-years-not-three-weeks/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If evil is inevitable, how are the wicked accountable? 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Hence it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/we-conceive-of-immortality-as-having-a-beginning-but-no-end-but-we/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [In our country and in our times no man is worthy the honored name of statesman who does not include the highest practicable education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/in-our-country-and-in-our-times-no-man-is-worthy-the-honored-name-of/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Genius may conceive but patient labor must consummate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/genius-may-conceive-but-patient-labor-must-consummate/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Even the choicest literature should be taken as the condiment, and not as the sustenance of life. 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It begets its opposite. The fanaticism of reform is only the raging of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/resistance-to-improvement-contradicts-the-noblest-instincts-of-the/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Explore all 191 Horace Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. 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