--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who has imagination without learning…" description: "\"He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet. [Fr., Celui qui a de l'imagination sans erudition a des ailes, et n'a pas de pieds.]\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/joseph-joubert-1017_erudition_he-who-has-imagination-without-learning_2377951.png" --- # He who has imagination without learning has wings but no… ![“He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet. [Fr., Celui qui a de l'imagination sans erudition a des ailes, et n'a pas de pieds.]” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/joseph-joubert-1017_erudition_he-who-has-imagination-without-learning_2377951.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/joseph-joubert-1017_erudition_he-who-has-imagination-without-learning_2377951.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/joseph-joubert-1017_erudition_he-who-has-imagination-without-learning_2377951.png) > “He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet. \[Fr., Celui qui a de l'imagination sans erudition a des ailes, et n'a pas de pieds.\]” [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination without knowledge is lofty but impractical, lacking grounding to act. **In simple terms:** Ideas need learning to become useful. Key Takeaway Combine learning with imagination for effective action. Themes education imagination practicality growth Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - creative projects - problem solving - innovation Key Concepts cognitive development creative thinking knowledge acquisition Questions to Reflect On - What knowledge do you need to act on your ideas? - How can you ground creative thoughts? A Different Perspective Pure imagination can lead to unrealistic plans. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Erudition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erudition/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ## Related quotes > [He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/he-who-has-imagination-without-learning-has-wings-but-no-feet/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [One who has imagination without learning has wings without feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-who-has-imagination-without-learning-has-wings-without-feet-2/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [“One who has imagination without learning has wings without feet. Joseph Joubert may 16 2002”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-who-has-imagination-without-learning-has-wings-without-feet/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Dreams are of no value if they don't have wings and feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/dreams-are-of-no-value-if-they-don-t-have-wings-and-feet/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [What the world of tomorrow will be like is greatly dependent on the power of imagination in those who are learning to read today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astrid-lindgren/what-the-world-of-tomorrow-will-be-like-is-greatly-dependent-on-the/) [Astrid Lindgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astrid-lindgren/) > [I don't know about flying, but sometimes it feels like I have these little wings on my feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-don-t-know-about-flying-but-sometimes-it-feels-like-i-have-these/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [You have overburdened your argument with ostentatious erudition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/you-have-overburdened-your-argument-with-ostentatious-erudition/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Critics have found in the narrative a veneer of erudition that cloaks nothing more than a James Bond-style romp, albeit a highly addictive one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/critics-have-found-in-the-narrative-a-veneer-of-erudition-that-cloaks/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“For some people, 'erudition' is nothing more than a vehicle for hostility and arrogance; 'good taste' merely an excuse for condescension--or worse, censorship --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-kimberly/for-some-people-erudition-is-nothing-more-than-a-vehicle-for/) Alice Kimberly > [ Don’t you love quotations? I am immensely fond of them; a certain proof of erudition… \[I\]f you should happen to write an insipid poem...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-brooke/don-t-you-love-quotations-i-am-immensely-fond-of-them-a-certain-proof/) Frances Brooke > [I have respect for mother nature's methods of robustness (billions of years allow most of what is fragile to break); classical thought is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/i-have-respect-for-mother-nature-s-methods-of-robustness-billions-of/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-think-of-the-standing-the-importance-and-the-erudition-of-all/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/erudition-like-a-bloodhound-is-a-charming-thing-when-held-firmly-in/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-see-your-nature-you-don-t-need-to-read-sutras-or-invoke/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/the-first-principle-of-solid-wisdom-is-discretion-without-it-all-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) ## More by Joseph Joubert > [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [To teach is to learn twice. About all some parents accomplish in life is to send a child to Harvard. The purpose of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-teach-is-to-learn-twice-about-all-some-parents-accomplish-in-life/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/grace-is-in-garments-in-movements-in-manners-beauty-in-the-nude-and/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) [Explore all 306 Joseph Joubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## More Erudition quotes > [The first principle of solid wisdom is discretion, without it all the erudition of life is merely bagatelle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/the-first-principle-of-solid-wisdom-is-discretion-without-it-all-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bodhidharma/if-you-see-your-nature-you-don-t-need-to-read-sutras-or-invoke/) [Bodhidharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bodhidharma/) > [Erudition, like a bloodhound, is a charming thing when held firmly in leash, but it is not so attractive when turned loose upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/erudition-like-a-bloodhound-is-a-charming-thing-when-held-firmly-in/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-think-of-the-standing-the-importance-and-the-erudition-of-all/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I have respect for mother nature's methods of robustness (billions of years allow most of what is fragile to break); classical thought is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/i-have-respect-for-mother-nature-s-methods-of-robustness-billions-of/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [ Don’t you love quotations? I am immensely fond of them; a certain proof of erudition… \[I\]f you should happen to write an insipid poem...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-brooke/don-t-you-love-quotations-i-am-immensely-fond-of-them-a-certain-proof/) Frances Brooke > [“For some people, 'erudition' is nothing more than a vehicle for hostility and arrogance; 'good taste' merely an excuse for condescension--or worse, censorship --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-kimberly/for-some-people-erudition-is-nothing-more-than-a-vehicle-for/) Alice Kimberly > [Critics have found in the narrative a veneer of erudition that cloaks nothing more than a James Bond-style romp, albeit a highly addictive one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/critics-have-found-in-the-narrative-a-veneer-of-erudition-that-cloaks/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [You have overburdened your argument with ostentatious erudition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/you-have-overburdened-your-argument-with-ostentatious-erudition/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Literature has her quacks no less than medicine, and they are divided into two classes; those who have erudition without genius, and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/literature-has-her-quacks-no-less-than-medicine-and-they-are-divided/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [These poems possess intelligence, erudition, gravitas and urgency. Serious and moving in voice and ambition, this passionately lyrical and articulate work reminds me very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoagland/these-poems-possess-intelligence-erudition-gravitas-and-urgency/) [Tony Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoagland/) > [Read for yourselves, read for the sake of your inspiration, for the sweet turmoil in your lovely head. But also read against yourselves, read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/read-for-yourselves-read-for-the-sake-of-your-inspiration-for-the/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [Even in an advanced stage of civilization, there is always a tendency to prefer those parts of literature which favor ancient prejudices, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-thomas-buckle/even-in-an-advanced-stage-of-civilization-there-is-always-a-tendency/) [Henry Thomas Buckle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-thomas-buckle/) > [We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ihab-hassan/we-rarely-quote-nowadays-to-appeal-to-authority-though-we-quote/) [Ihab Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ihab-hassan/) > [Erudition can produce foliage without bearing fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/erudition-can-produce-foliage-without-bearing-fruit/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) [Browse all 54 Erudition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erudition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet. 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