--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only the intellect that can be…" description: "\"It is only the intellect that can be thoroughly and hideously wicked. It can forget everything in the attainment of its ends. The heart recoils; in its..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/james-russell-lowell-561_attainment_it-is-only-the-intellect-that-can-be-tho_3036153.png" --- # It is only the intellect that can be thoroughly and… ![“It is only the intellect that can be thoroughly and hideously wicked. It can forget everything in the attainment of its ends. The heart recoils; in its retired some drops of childhood's dew still linger, defying manhood's fiery noon.” quote by James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/james-russell-lowell-561_attainment_it-is-only-the-intellect-that-can-be-tho_3036153.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/james-russell-lowell-561_attainment_it-is-only-the-intellect-that-can-be-tho_3036153.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dc/james-russell-lowell-561_attainment_it-is-only-the-intellect-that-can-be-tho_3036153.png) > “It is only the intellect that can be thoroughly and hideously wicked. It can forget everything in the attainment of its ends. The heart recoils; in its retired some drops of childhood's dew still linger, defying manhood's fiery noon.” [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellect can become morally corrupt when it pursues goals without compassion, while remnants of innocence linger. **In simple terms:** Intellect can be wicked. Key Takeaway Balance mind with heart. Themes morality intellect innocence Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political strategy - scientific research - business decisions - personal ambition Key Concepts philosophy psychology human nature Questions to Reflect On - What costs arise when intellect dominates? - How can childhood innocence guide adult choices? A Different Perspective Rationalism alone may ignore empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attainment/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Defying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defying/) [Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dew/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fiery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiery/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Forget everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-everything/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Recoils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-recoils-4983091/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intellect Thoroughly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect-thoroughly-4983089/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Manhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhood/) [Manhood Fiery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhood-fiery-4983092/) [Noon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noon/) [Recoil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recoil/) [Retired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retired/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Wicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked/) [Wicked Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked-forget-4983090/) ## Related quotes > [One can forget everything, everything, only not oneself, one's own being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/one-can-forget-everything-everything-only-not-oneself-one-s-own-being/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-the-way-s-he/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You can tell a lot about a person by who his or her heroes are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-who-his-or-her-heroes-are/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Like the oxytocin you get as a mom makes you forget everything constantly. 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Then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/this-one-commercial-said-forget-everything-you-know-about-slipcovers/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [You need the kind of objectivity that makes you forget everything you've heard, clear the table, and do a factual study like a scientist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/you-need-the-kind-of-objectivity-that-makes-you-forget-everything-you/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [What do drawings mean to me? I really don't know. The activity absorbs me. I forget everything else in a way that I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/what-do-drawings-mean-to-me-i-really-don-t-know-the-activity-absorbs/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Every movie you're going to forget that it's 3D whether it's widescreen or whatever it is, you're going to forget everything if the movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/every-movie-you-re-going-to-forget-that-it-s-3d-whether-it-s/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [There's this wonderful and very important event when we're born, and we forget everything that's gone before, or else we'd be such a mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/there-s-this-wonderful-and-very-important-event-when-we-re-born-and/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) ## More by James Russell Lowell > [We kind o' thought Christ went agin war an' pillage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/we-kind-o-thought-christ-went-agin-war-an-pillage/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [He gives only the worthless gold who gives from a sense of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/he-gives-only-the-worthless-gold-who-gives-from-a-sense-of-duty/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new - and near the end. 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They have tempted the body with large promises of possessions in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/most-religion-mongers-have-bated-their-paradises-with-a-bit-of/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-thing-we-long-for-that-we-are-for-one-transcendent-moment/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [O reputation! dearer far than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/o-reputation-dearer-far-than-life/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Keats longed for fame, but longed above all to deserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/keats-longed-for-fame-but-longed-above-all-to-deserve-it/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [ \[B\]ut in literature, it should be remembered, a thing always becomes his at last who says it best, and thus makes it his own. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/b-ut-in-literature-it-should-be-remembered-a-thing-always-becomes-his/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It may be glorious to write Thoughts that shall glad the two or three High souls, like those far stars that come in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-may-be-glorious-to-write-thoughts-that-shall-glad-the-two-or-three/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is the vain endeavor to make ourselves what we are not that has strewn history with so many broken purposes and lives left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-the-vain-endeavor-to-make-ourselves-what-we-are-not-that-has/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Take winter as you find him, and he turns out to be a thoroughly honest fellow; with no nonsense in him, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/take-winter-as-you-find-him-and-he-turns-out-to-be-a-thoroughly/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The intellect has only one failing, which, to be sure, is a very considerable one. It has no conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-intellect-has-only-one-failing-which-to-be-sure-is-a-very/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) [Explore all 471 James Russell Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More Attainment quotes > [Life, whether in this world or any other, is the sum of our attainment, our experience, our character. The conditions are secondary. 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Since explanations never really explains, nor are they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/in-transmitting-the-dharma-there-is-neither-explanation-nor-teaching/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-mind-of-one-meditating-on-a-single-object-becomes-one-pointed-and/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-most-important-rules-that-i-ever-adopted-to-help-me-in-achieving/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Like myself, all Americans have a deep concern for the well-being of Iran. 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Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [The more clearly defined and keenly desired your goals, the more of your natural creativity will be released for goal attainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-more-clearly-defined-and-keenly-desired-your-goals-the-more-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-attainment-every-step-forward-in-knowledge-follows-from-courage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/and-only-the-very-courageous-will-be-able-to-keep-alive-the-spirit-of/) [John F. 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