--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who has not even a knowledge of common…" description: "\"“He who has not even a knowledge of common things is a brute among men. He who has an accurate knowledge of human concerns alone, is a man among brutes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/plotinus-12599_god_he-who-has-not-even-a-knowledge-of-commo_1352852.jpg" --- # He who has not even a knowledge of common things is a… ![“He who has not even a knowledge of common things is a brute among men. He who has an accurate knowledge of human concerns alone, is a man among brutes. But he who knows all that can be known by intellectual energy is a God among men.” quote by Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/plotinus-12599_god_he-who-has-not-even-a-knowledge-of-commo_1352852.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/plotinus-12599_god_he-who-has-not-even-a-knowledge-of-commo_1352852.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/plotinus-12599_god_he-who-has-not-even-a-knowledge-of-commo_1352852.jpg) > ““He who has not even a knowledge of common things is a brute among men. He who has an accurate knowledge of human concerns alone, is a man among brutes. But he who knows all that can be known by intellectual energy is a God among men.”” [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual depth separates humans from brute force; true knowledge elevates one to divine status. **In simple terms:** Knowledge elevates humanity. Key Takeaway Pursue deep understanding. Themes knowledge humanity philosophy Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - leadership - personal growth - ethical decision making Key Concepts intellectualism spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What knowledge feels most transformative? - How can we make deep learning more inclusive? A Different Perspective Intellectual pursuits can be inaccessible to many. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [O woman! lovely woman! Nature made thee To temper man: we had been brutes without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/o-woman-lovely-woman-nature-made-thee-to-temper-man-we-had-been/) [Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/) > [I'm not known for my intellectual range and tricks have been played on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sanderson/i-m-not-known-for-my-intellectual-range-and-tricks-have-been-played/) [William Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sanderson/) > [“Until human being is not ready to receive knowledge, until then it is impossible for God to give knowledge to human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avinash-rai/until-human-being-is-not-ready-to-receive-knowledge-until-then-it-is/) Avinash Rai > [The knowledge that we have about what it is to be human that we have as a child is something we necessarily must lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-potter/the-knowledge-that-we-have-about-what-it-is-to-be-human-that-we-have/) [Dennis Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-potter/) > [“The habit of knowledge is not human but devine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-habit-of-knowledge-is-not-human-but-devine/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [How ignorant we are! How ignorant everyone is! We can cut across only a small area of the appallingly expanding fields of knowledge. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-barnett-gilson/how-ignorant-we-are-how-ignorant-everyone-is-we-can-cut-across-only-a/) [Mary Barnett Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-barnett-gilson/) > [I used to pass by a large computer system with the feeling that it represented the summed-up knowledge of human beings. It reassured me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-used-to-pass-by-a-large-computer-system-with-the-feeling-that-it/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-library-connects-us-with-the-insight-and-knowledge-painfully/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Those who have a tolerable knowledge of human nature will not stand in need of such lights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/those-who-have-a-tolerable-knowledge-of-human-nature-will-not-stand/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Knowledge and human power are synonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/knowledge-and-human-power-are-synonymous/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“What we should do, I suggest, is to give up the idea of ultimate sources of knowledge, and admit that all knowledge is human;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/what-we-should-do-i-suggest-is-to-give-up-the-idea-of-ultimate/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [Knowledge of human nature is the beginning and end of political education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/knowledge-of-human-nature-is-the-beginning-and-end-of-political/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Seasons didn't come behind the nicotine-stained walls of Mountain City's prison, so Harm always imagined it spring--the locust trees clustered with shaggy white blooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyn-mccrumb/seasons-didn-t-come-behind-the-nicotine-stained-walls-of-mountain/) [Sharyn McCrumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyn-mccrumb/) > [“Quotes By Transcendologist Kurt Kawohl 1941 - If the medieval practices and the medieval beliefs of Christianity, Judaism and Islam that are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-kawohl/quotes-by-transcendologist-kurt-kawohl-1941-if-the-medieval-practices/) Kurt Kawohl > [“Nevermore Tree was gargantuan, a word which here means 'having attained an inordinate amount of botanical volume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/nevermore-tree-was-gargantuan-a-word-which-here-means-having-attained/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) ## More by Plotinus > [We are not separated from spirit, we are in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/we-are-not-separated-from-spirit-we-are-in-it/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Beauty is rather a light that plays over the symmetry of things than that symmetry itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/beauty-is-rather-a-light-that-plays-over-the-symmetry-of-things-than/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/mankind-is-poised-midway-between-the-gods-and-the-beasts/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [“This All is universal power, of infinite extent and infinite in potency, a god so great that all his parts are infinite. Name any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/this-all-is-universal-power-of-infinite-extent-and-infinite-in/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [One principle must make the universe a single complex living creature, one from all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/one-principle-must-make-the-universe-a-single-complex-living-creature/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [The stars are like letters that inscribe themselves at every moment in the sky. Everything in the world is full of signs. All events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/the-stars-are-like-letters-that-inscribe-themselves-at-every-moment/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Life is the flight of the alone to the alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/life-is-the-flight-of-the-alone-to-the-alone/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [The soul that beholds beauty becomes beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/the-soul-that-beholds-beauty-becomes-beautiful/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Knowing demands the organ fitted to the object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/knowing-demands-the-organ-fitted-to-the-object/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Become vision itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/become-vision-itself/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [And this is the life of the Gods, and of Godlike men, a life without love of the world, a flight of the Alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/and-this-is-the-life-of-the-gods-and-of-godlike-men-a-life-without/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [You can only apprehend the Infinite by a faculty that is superior to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/you-can-only-apprehend-the-infinite-by-a-faculty-that-is-superior-to/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [It is bad enough to be condemned to drag around this image in which nature has imprisoned me. Why should I consent to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/it-is-bad-enough-to-be-condemned-to-drag-around-this-image-in-which/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [“To make the existence and coherent structure of this Universe depend upon automatic activity and upon chance is against all good sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/to-make-the-existence-and-coherent-structure-of-this-universe-depend/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [In this state of absorbed contemplation, there is no longer any question of holding an object in view; the vision is such that seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/in-this-state-of-absorbed-contemplation-there-is-no-longer-any/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) [Explore all 53 Plotinus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) ## More God quotes > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [What would God have me do with my life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/what-would-god-have-me-do-with-my-life/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can-in-all-the-ways-you/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [You are a God Act like one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-are-a-god-act-like-one/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) [Browse all 37,707 God quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He who has not even a knowledge of common things is a brute among men. 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