Knowledge Quote by Josef Pieper
““Since we nowadays think that all a man needs for acquisition of truth is to exert his brain more or less vigorously, and since we consider an ascetic approach to knowledge hardly sensible, we have lost the awareness of the close bond that links the knowing of truth to the condition of purity. Thomas says that unchastity's first-born daughter is blindness of the spirit. Only he who wants nothing for himself, who not subjectively 'interested,' can know the truth. On the other hand, an impure, selfishly corrupted will-to-pleasure destroys both resoluteness of spirit and the ability of the psyche to listen in silent attention to the language of reality.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Four Cardinal Virtues by Josef Pieper, 1965
Truth requires a pure, selfless mind; striving for knowledge without inner purity leads to spiritual blindness.
In simple terms: Pure mind needed for truth.
Key Takeaway
Cultivate selflessness to see truth.
Themes
virtue
purity
knowledge
spirituality
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
ethical
spiritual
When to use this quote
- meditation
- ethical decision making
- academic study
- personal growth
Key Concepts
selflessness
inner purity
attention
silence
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you detach personal desire from learning?
- What practices foster inner purity?
A Different Perspective
Self-interest can cloud perception of reality.
![“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions of phantasmatical seeming philosophy." [William Petty]” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e5a/carl-zimmer-16331_knowledge_i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted_1770.jpg)
