--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Scholarship is to be created not by…" description: "\"Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png" --- # Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by… ![“Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png) > “Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Knowledge thrives when it is sparked by genuine curiosity rather than forced obligation. **In simple terms:** Interest, not compulsion, fuels learning. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity to inspire learning. Themes education motivation self‑directed learning Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - Classroom teaching - personal study - mentoring - public lectures Key Concepts Intrinsic motivation autonomy humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can you spark genuine curiosity in others? - What environments nurture intrinsic motivation? A Different Perspective If external pressure dominates, true interest may be suppressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Pure Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure-knowledge-727522/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) [Scholarship Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship-created-2264812/) ## Related quotes > [I would have the studies elective. Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge. The wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-would-have-the-studies-elective-scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The resources of the scholar are proportioned to his confidence in the attributes of the intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-resources-of-the-scholar-are-proportioned-to-his-confidence-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Pure knowledge is not imparted by another; it comes unmasked. It is the one that is listening: it is your own true nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/pure-knowledge-is-not-imparted-by-another-it-comes-unmasked-it-is-the/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Error has made man so deep, sensitive, and inventive that he has put forth such blossoms as religions and arts. Pure knowledge could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/error-has-made-man-so-deep-sensitive-and-inventive-that-he-has-put/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of the body and contemplate things by themselves with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-we-are-ever-to-have-pure-knowledge-of-anything-we-must-get-rid-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We are in fact convinced that if we are ever to have pure knowledge of anything, we must get rid of the body and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/we-are-in-fact-convinced-that-if-we-are-ever-to-have-pure-knowledge/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“Knowledge of the non-Self (paudgalik-gnan) is called agnan (ignorance). Knowledge of the Self is called atma-gnan (realization of the soul). To attain pure knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/knowledge-of-the-non-self-paudgalik-gnan-is-called-agnan-ignorance/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The notion that "applied" knowledge is somehow less worthy than "pure" knowledge, was natural to a society in which all useful work was performed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-notion-that-applied-knowledge-is-somehow-less-worthy-than-pure/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Pure Knowledge (Shuddha Gnan) is the Absolute Supreme Soul (Parmatma). Soul is a symbolic word. But one should have the ‘intuitive perception’ (vision) of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/pure-knowledge-shuddha-gnan-is-the-absolute-supreme-soul-parmatma/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The first spiritual law of success is the Law of Pure Potentiality. This law is based on the fact that we are, in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-first-spiritual-law-of-success-is-the-law-of-pure-potentiality/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [It is my inner conviction that the development of science seeks in the main to satisfy the longing for pure knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-is-my-inner-conviction-that-the-development-of-science-seeks-in/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Through pure knowledge is Moksha (ultimate liberation), through auspicious knowledge is worldly happiness, through wrong knowledge is misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-pure-knowledge-is-moksha-ultimate-liberation-through/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Profoundness doesn't come intelligence, but from pure knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francelys-melecio/profoundness-doesn-t-come-intelligence-but-from-pure-knowledge/) [Francelys Melecio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francelys-melecio/) > [“Through what has one seen this (AKRAM) Science (stepless path to liberation)? Through pragna shakti (energy and power of the Pure Soul). Knowledge, seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-what-has-one-seen-this-akram-science-stepless-path-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [In physiology, as in all other sciences, no discovery is useless, no curiosity misplaced or too ambitious, and we may be certain that every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-starling/in-physiology-as-in-all-other-sciences-no-discovery-is-useless-no/) [Ernest Starling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-starling/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) [Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/) > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) [L.M.Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-blanchard/) [Browse all 1,440 Awakening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-compulsion-but-by-awakening-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awakening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-compulsion-but-by-awakening-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_awakening_scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-comp_1213741.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure interest in knowledge.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Scholarship is to be created not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-compulsion-but-by-awakening-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/scholarship-is-to-be-created-not-by-compulsion-but-by-awakening-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```