--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Language is not only the vehicle of…" description: "\"Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking.\" — Humphry Davy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg" --- # Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great… ![“Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking.” quote by Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg) > “Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking.” [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Language shapes and accelerates thinking, acting as a tool for mental processing. **In simple terms:** Words help us think faster. Key Takeaway Use language to sharpen thinking. Themes language thought cognition tool Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - writing - problem solving - creative work Key Concepts linguistics philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How does language expand your ideas? - When does silence aid thinking? A Different Perspective Overreliance on language may limit non-verbal insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [“We writers aren't sculpting in DNA, or even clay or mud, but words, sentences, paragraphs, syntax, voice; materials issued by tongue or fingertips but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/we-writers-aren-t-sculpting-in-dna-or-even-clay-or-mud-but-words/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I think it all comes back to the individual. My instrument's just a pile of metal and wood! If you listen to the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefon-harris/i-think-it-all-comes-back-to-the-individual-my-instrument-s-just-a/) [Stefon Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefon-harris/) > [The thought processes that go through my head when I'm playing a game compared to the thought processes in real life are very, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-romero/the-thought-processes-that-go-through-my-head-when-i-m-playing-a-game/) [John Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-romero/) > [Love is a feeling, not a thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-williams/love-is-a-feeling-not-a-thought/) [Christopher Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-williams/) > [Words are the small change of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/words-are-the-small-change-of-thought/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“Perhaps, he thought, if I only think of this second, this moment, the train won't come at all. Think of the water, think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/perhaps-he-thought-if-i-only-think-of-this-second-this-moment-the/) [William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/) > [Time and space are only forms of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-nesbit/time-and-space-are-only-forms-of-thought/) [E. Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) > [To one who is accustomed to thinking a lot, every new thought that he hears or reads about immediately appears as a link in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/to-one-who-is-accustomed-to-thinking-a-lot-every-new-thought-that-he/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A word is a thought, of course. But any image, including a photograph, may become an instrument of sufficiently lucid cogitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/a-word-is-a-thought-of-course-but-any-image-including-a-photograph/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [ The system \[of thought\] doesn't stay with the difficult problem that produces unpleasant feelings. It's conditioned somehow to move as fast as it can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/the-system-of-thought-doesn-t-stay-with-the-difficult-problem-that/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/thought-determines-action-do-not-let-your-whole-life-be-a-reaction-to/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [All that we are is the result of what we have thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-we-are-is-the-result-of-what-we-have-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forgotten thought is the ultimate entropy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-lintern/forgotten-thought-is-the-ultimate-entropy/) Neil Lintern ## More by Humphry Davy > [Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/life-is-made-up-not-of-great-sacrifices-or-duties-but-of-little/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [But if the two countries or governments are at war, the men of science are not. That would, indeed be a civil war of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/but-if-the-two-countries-or-governments-are-at-war-the-men-of-science/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [This sentiment of self-contempt is a frequent one in young people of both sexes. Their valuation of themselves varies as much as the barometer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/this-sentiment-of-self-contempt-is-a-frequent-one-in-young-people-of/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Consistency in opinion is the slow poison of intellectual life, the destroyer of its vividness and energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/consistency-in-opinion-is-the-slow-poison-of-intellectual-life-the/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Nothing is so dangerous to the progress of the human mind than to assume that our views of science are ultimate, that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/nothing-is-so-dangerous-to-the-progress-of-the-human-mind-than-to/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Every discovery opens a new field for investigation of facts, shows us the imperfection of our theories. It has justly been said, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/every-discovery-opens-a-new-field-for-investigation-of-facts-shows-us/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [If I am allowed to give a metaphorical allusion to the future state of the blessed, I should imagine it by the orange-grove in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/if-i-am-allowed-to-give-a-metaphorical-allusion-to-the-future-state/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [The beginning of civilisation is the discovery of some useful arts, by which men acquire property, comforts, or luxuries. The necessity or desire of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/the-beginning-of-civilisation-is-the-discovery-of-some-useful-arts-by/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Natural science is founded on minute critical views of the general order of events taking place upon our globe, corrected, enlarged, or exalted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/natural-science-is-founded-on-minute-critical-views-of-the-general/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [The three states of the caterpillar, larva, and butterfly have, since the time of the Greek poets, been applied to typify the human being,--its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/the-three-states-of-the-caterpillar-larva-and-butterfly-have-since/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [James Watt was equally distinguished as a natural philosopher and chemist; his inventions demonstrate his profound knowledge of those sciences, and that peculiar characteristic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/james-watt-was-equally-distinguished-as-a-natural-philosopher-and/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [The most important of my discoveries have been suggested to me by my failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/the-most-important-of-my-discoveries-have-been-suggested-to-me-by-my/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Mr. Dalton's permanent reputation will rest upon his having discovered a simple principle, universally applicable to the facts of chemistry - in fixing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/mr-dalton-s-permanent-reputation-will-rest-upon-his-having-discovered/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [Oh, most magnificent and noble Nature! Have I not worshipped thee with such a love As never mortal man before displayed? Adored thee in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/oh-most-magnificent-and-noble-nature-have-i-not-worshipped-thee-with/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [“The moment after, I began to respire 20 quarts of unmingled nitrous oxide. A thrilling, extending from the chest to the extremities, was almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/the-moment-after-i-began-to-respire-20-quarts-of-unmingled-nitrous/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) [Explore all 50 Humphry Davy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) TimBur > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Humphry Davy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thought-it-is-a-great-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thought-it-is-a-great-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e38/humphry-davy-13342_language_language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thou_2632751.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Language is not only the vehicle of thought, it is a great and efficient instrument in thinking.” — Humphry Davy", "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": "Humphry Davy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Language is not only the vehicle...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thought-it-is-a-great-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/language-is-not-only-the-vehicle-of-thought-it-is-a-great-and/#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 } } ] } ```