--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To teach one who has no curiosity to…" description: "\"To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a field without ploughing it.\" — Richard Whately" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png" --- # To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a… ![“To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a field without ploughing it.” quote by Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png) > “To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a field without ploughing it.” [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching without curiosity is futile; curiosity is the soil for learning. **In simple terms:** Curiosity fuels learning. Key Takeaway Foster curiosity before instruction. Themes education curiosity learning Mood encouraging inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom lessons - self‑study - training workshops Key Concepts pedagogy motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you spark curiosity in others? - What methods nurture inquisitive minds? A Different Perspective Some learners may lack resources to explore. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ploughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ploughing/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Under no condition can you teach curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-grazer/under-no-condition-can-you-teach-curiosity/) [Brian Grazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-grazer/) > [If a subject excites us, if it stirs our deepest curiosity, or if we have to learn because the stakes are high, we pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-a-subject-excites-us-if-it-stirs-our-deepest-curiosity-or-if-we/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [The thing that keeps me most awake is the desire and curiosity to learn more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/the-thing-that-keeps-me-most-awake-is-the-desire-and-curiosity-to/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [When you venture at life with curiosity, you can learn from anything. You learn from things that you could never maybe thought you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-kutcher/when-you-venture-at-life-with-curiosity-you-can-learn-from-anything/) [Ashton Kutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-kutcher/) > [As he rounded the corner, he saw two dozen men, naked to the waist, digging a hole thirty yards square at the side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/as-he-rounded-the-corner-he-saw-two-dozen-men-naked-to-the-waist/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that darkness?' asked Drinian. Use?' replied Reepicheep. 'Use, Captain?' If you mean by filling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-what-manner-of-use-would-it-be-ploughing-through-that-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And yet, we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness may be: it may result in ... tiresome acrobatics. ... Flashy effects distract the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/and-yet-we-know-how-fatal-the-pursuit-of-liveliness-may-be-it-may/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Treat your career as a business. Invest your earnings into good tools that can enhance your business. Film businesses are the same as non-film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-grove/treat-your-career-as-a-business-invest-your-earnings-into-good-tools/) Elliot Grove > [And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/and-ain-t-i-a-woman-look-at-me-look-at-my-arm-i-have-ploughed-and/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [It is often said it is no matter what a man believes if he is only sincere. This is true of all minor truths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-often-said-it-is-no-matter-what-a-man-believes-if-he-is-only/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Courage to me means ploughing through that dull gray mist that comes down on life-not only overriding people and circumstances but overriding the bleakness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/courage-to-me-means-ploughing-through-that-dull-gray-mist-that-comes/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The earth doesn't belong to anyone. It is the land upon which all of us are to live for many years, ploughing, reaping and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-earth-doesn-t-belong-to-anyone-it-is-the-land-upon-which-all-of/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [We are going to inherit the earth . There is not the slightest doubt about that. The bourgeoisie may blast and burn its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buenaventura-durruti/we-are-going-to-inherit-the-earth-there-is-not-the-slightest-doubt-2/) [Buenaventura Durruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buenaventura-durruti/) > [Well, I am ploughing on my canvases as they do on their fields (the peasants). It goes badly enough in our profession - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/well-i-am-ploughing-on-my-canvases-as-they-do-on-their-fields-the/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) ## More by Richard Whately > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Of Rhetoric various definitions have been given by different writers; who, however, seem not so much to have disagreed in their conceptions of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-rhetoric-various-definitions-have-been-given-by-different-writers/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [The power of duly appreciating little things belongs to a great mind...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/the-power-of-duly-appreciating-little-things-belongs-to-a-great-mind/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Of all hostile feelings, envy is perhaps the hardest to be subdued, because hardly any one owns it even to himself, but looks out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-all-hostile-feelings-envy-is-perhaps-the-hardest-to-be-subdued/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [knowledge of our duties is the most useful part of philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/knowledge-of-our-duties-is-the-most-useful-part-of-philosophy/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Geologists complain that when they want specimens of the common rocks of a country, they receive curious spars; just so, historians give us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/geologists-complain-that-when-they-want-specimens-of-the-common-rocks/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Reason can no more influence the will, and operate as a motive, than the eyes which show a man his road can enable him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/reason-can-no-more-influence-the-will-and-operate-as-a-motive-than/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Eloquence is relative. One can no more pronounce on the eloquence of any composition than the wholesomeness of a medicine, without knowing for whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/eloquence-is-relative-one-can-no-more-pronounce-on-the-eloquence-of/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Falsehood, like poison, will generally be rejected when administered alone; but when blended with wholesome ingredients may be swallowed unperceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-poison-will-generally-be-rejected-when-administered/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Happiness is no laughing matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/happiness-is-no-laughing-matter/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Though not always called upon to condemn ourselves, it is always safe to suspect ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/though-not-always-called-upon-to-condemn-ourselves-it-is-always-safe/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Even supposing there were some spiritual advantage in celibacy, it ought to be completely voluntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/even-supposing-there-were-some-spiritual-advantage-in-celibacy-it/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [Some men's reputation seems like seed-wheat, which thrives best when brought from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/some-men-s-reputation-seems-like-seed-wheat-which-thrives-best-when/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [He who is not aware of his ignorance will be only misled by his knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/he-who-is-not-aware-of-his-ignorance-will-be-only-misled-by-his/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) [Explore all 119 Richard Whately quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## More Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) Unknow > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) Robyn Irving [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a field without ploughing it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Whately" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-learn-is-to-sow-a-field-without/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Curiosity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-learn-is-to-sow-a-field-without/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/626/richard-whately-3892_curiosity_to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-lea_1231159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To teach one who has no curiosity to learn, is to sow a field without ploughing it.” — Richard Whately", "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": "Richard Whately", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To teach one who has no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-learn-is-to-sow-a-field-without/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/to-teach-one-who-has-no-curiosity-to-learn-is-to-sow-a-field-without/#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 } } ] } ```