--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only the brave should teach…Teaching is a…" description: "\"Only the brave should teach…Teaching is a vocation. It is as sacred as priesthood; as innate a desire, as inescapable as the genius which compels a gre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/pearl-s-buck-1024_art_only-the-brave-should-teach-teaching-is_1556521.png" --- # Only the brave should teach…Teaching is a vocation. It is… ![“Only the brave should teach…Teaching is a vocation. It is as sacred as priesthood; as innate a desire, as inescapable as the genius which compels a great artist. If he has not the concern for humanity, the love of living creatures, the vision of the priest and the artist, he must not teach.” quote by Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/pearl-s-buck-1024_art_only-the-brave-should-teach-teaching-is_1556521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/pearl-s-buck-1024_art_only-the-brave-should-teach-teaching-is_1556521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5be/pearl-s-buck-1024_art_only-the-brave-should-teach-teaching-is_1556521.png) > “Only the brave should teach…Teaching is a vocation. It is as sacred as priesthood; as innate a desire, as inescapable as the genius which compels a great artist. If he has not the concern for humanity, the love of living creatures, the vision of the priest and the artist, he must not teach.” [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching is a holy calling comparable to priesthood and artistry; without compassion and humanity, one should not teach. **In simple terms:** Teaching requires deep care and artistic vision. Key Takeaway Teach only if driven by love for humanity. Themes education service artistry Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - classroom - mentoring - curriculum design Key Concepts humanism vocational ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to teach with compassion? - How can teachers balance art and practicality? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints; idealism can be limiting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Brave Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-teach-5830234/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Innate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innate/) [Living creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-creatures/) [Priesthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priesthood/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-vocation-3922043/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) [Vocation Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation-sacred-762248/) ## Related quotes > [Each of us has our own specific vocation, a sacred journey prepared by the Creator of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/each-of-us-has-our-own-specific-vocation-a-sacred-journey-prepared-by/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [I think teaching should be a vocation, and they should be paid more for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-think-teaching-should-be-a-vocation-and-they-should-be-paid-more/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) > [No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want - or in the case of human beings, from vanity, the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/no-living-creature-is-naturally-greedy-except-from-fear-of-want-or-in/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [Desire , to know why, and how, CURIOSITY; such as is in no living creature but Man ; so that Man is distinguished, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/desire-to-know-why-and-how-curiosity-such-as-is-in-no-living-creature/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Ah, if I could realize, if I could forget myself and devote my meditations to the freeing, the awakening and the blessedness of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/ah-if-i-could-realize-if-i-could-forget-myself-and-devote-my/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. 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Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [War is the most devastating endemic and epidemic disease the human race has to endure, and yet too little has been done to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/war-is-the-most-devastating-endemic-and-epidemic-disease-the-human/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [In our changing world nothing changes more than geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/in-our-changing-world-nothing-changes-more-than-geography/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [No one really understood music unless he was a scientist, her father had declared, and not just a scientist, either, oh, no, only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-one-really-understood-music-unless-he-was-a-scientist-her-father/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/upon-the-profound-discontent-of-the-young-in-every-country-do-i-set/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Wang Lung sat smoking, thinking of the silver as it had lain upon the table. It had come out of the earth, this silver,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/wang-lung-sat-smoking-thinking-of-the-silver-as-it-had-lain-upon-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/the-secret-of-joy-in-work-is-contained-in-one-word-excellence-to-know/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/if-our-american-way-of-life-fails-the-child-it-fails-us-all/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Mind and body were well or ill together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/mind-and-body-were-well-or-ill-together/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“U meni postoji mjesto gdje živim posve sama; tu obnavljam svoja proljeća koja nikad ne presahnu”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/u-meni-postoji-mjesto-gdje-ivim-posve-sama-tu-obnavljam-svoja-prolje/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“Brave young American men climbed the rugged slopes of Korean mountains and fought in homesickness and desperate weariness for the sake of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/brave-young-american-men-climbed-the-rugged-slopes-of-korean/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then; life is dull without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/truth-is-always-exciting-speak-it-then-life-is-dull-without-it/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“All scientific effort must now be concentrated in the area of defence (sic). We have learned our lesson. We, the most civilized of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/all-scientific-effort-must-now-be-concentrated-in-the-area-of-defence/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [to know how to read is to light a lamp in the mind, to release the soul from prison, to open a gate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/to-know-how-to-read-is-to-light-a-lamp-in-the-mind-to-release-the/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) [Explore all 304 Pearl S. Buck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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