--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a…" description: "\"There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.\" — Roger Ascham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg" --- # There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and… ![“There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.” quote by Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg) > “There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.” [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Praise is ineffective for sharpening wit; true learning comes from challenge and effort, not flattery. **In simple terms:** Praise doesn’t improve intelligence. Key Takeaway Value constructive criticism. Themes education humility self‑improvement Mood thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - studying - debate - skill development Key Concepts learning motivation feedback Questions to Reflect On - What challenges help you grow? - How do you handle criticism? A Different Perspective Excessive praise can breed complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [Let the master praise him, and say, 'Here ye do well.' For, I assure you, there is no such whetstone to sharpen a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/let-the-master-praise-him-and-say-here-ye-do-well-for-i-assure-you/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [I think what makes 'Jeopardy!' special is that, among all the quiz and game shows out there, ours tends to encourage learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-trebek/i-think-what-makes-jeopardy-special-is-that-among-all-the-quiz-and/) [Alex Trebek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-trebek/) > [Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all-distinctions-no-dignity-no/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We do not have to get our children to learn; only to allow and encourage them in their learning. We do not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-berrien-berends/we-do-not-have-to-get-our-children-to-learn-only-to-allow-and/) [Polly Berrien Berends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-berrien-berends/) > [A sentence is but a cheveril glove to a good wit; How quickly the wrong side may be turned outward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-sentence-is-but-a-cheveril-glove-to-a-good-wit-how-quickly-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinction. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all-distinction-no-dignity-no/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit, Which gives men stomach to digest his words With better appetite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-rudeness-is-a-sauce-to-his-good-wit-which-gives-men-stomach-to/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Unhappy is that Grandeur which makes us too great to be good; and that Wit which sets us at a distance from true Wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-astell/unhappy-is-that-grandeur-which-makes-us-too-great-to-be-good-and-that/) [Mary Astell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-astell/) > [A good wit will make use of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-good-wit-will-make-use-of-anything/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Find apartner who wil encourage you to grow,who will let you go to the world,and trust that you will come back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princealanz/find-apartner-who-wil-encourage-you-to-grow-who-will-let-you-go-to/) Princealanz > [Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stock-your-mind-stock-your-mind-you-might-be-poor-your-shoes-might-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [Meditate on your God-given strengths and learn to encourage yourself, for much of the time nobody else will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melania/meditate-on-your-god-given-strengths-and-learn-to-encourage-yourself/) [Melania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melania/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) ## More by Roger Ascham > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [Twenty to one offend more in writing too much than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/twenty-to-one-offend-more-in-writing-too-much-than-too-little/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [To speak as the common people do, to think as wise men do is style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/to-speak-as-the-common-people-do-to-think-as-wise-men-do-is-style/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [He that will write well in any tongue, must follow this counsel of Aristotle, to speak as the common people do, to think as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/he-that-will-write-well-in-any-tongue-must-follow-this-counsel-of/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [A man, groundly learned already, may take much profit himself in using by epitome to draw other men’s works, for his own memory sake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/a-man-groundly-learned-already-may-take-much-profit-himself-in-using/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [He that will write well in any tongue must follow this counsel of Aristotle: to speak as the common people do, to think as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/he-that-will-write-well-in-any-tongue-must-follow-this-counsel-of-2/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [It is good manners, not rank, wealth, or beauty, that constitute the real lay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-good-manners-not-rank-wealth-or-beauty-that-constitute-the-real/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [A man reacheth not to excellence with one language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/a-man-reacheth-not-to-excellence-with-one-language/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [Young children were sooner allured by love, than driven by beating, to attain good learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/young-children-were-sooner-allured-by-love-than-driven-by-beating-to/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [By experience we find out a short way by a long wandering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/by-experience-we-find-out-a-short-way-by-a-long-wandering/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [To laugh, to lie, to flatter, to face: Four ways in court to win man's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/to-laugh-to-lie-to-flatter-to-face-four-ways-in-court-to-win-man-s/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [Learning teacheth more in one year than experience in twenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/learning-teacheth-more-in-one-year-than-experience-in-twenty/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [Italianate Englishmen are incarnate devils ... for they first lustfully condemn God, then scornfully mock his word, and also spitefully hate and hurt all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/italianate-englishmen-are-incarnate-devils-for-they-first-lustfully/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [I remember when I was young, in the north, they went to the grammar school little children: they came from thence great lubbers: always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/i-remember-when-i-was-young-in-the-north-they-went-to-the-grammar/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [ For \[the\] quick in wit and light in manners be either seldom troubled or very soon weary, in carrying a very heavy purse. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/for-the-quick-in-wit-and-light-in-manners-be-either-seldom-troubled/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) [Explore all 29 Roger Ascham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) ## More Encourage quotes > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Meditate on your God-given strengths and learn to encourage yourself, for much of the time nobody else will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melania/meditate-on-your-god-given-strengths-and-learn-to-encourage-yourself/) [Melania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melania/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [Though there may be people in your life that support you and encourage you we have to realize that people are only human, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/though-there-may-be-people-in-your-life-that-support-you-and/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stock-your-mind-stock-your-mind-you-might-be-poor-your-shoes-might-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Find apartner who wil encourage you to grow,who will let you go to the world,and trust that you will come back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princealanz/find-apartner-who-wil-encourage-you-to-grow-who-will-let-you-go-to/) Princealanz > [I direct with energy. I believe in energy. I think energy is an electric thing in actors. I try to inspire, encourage, and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lillard/i-direct-with-energy-i-believe-in-energy-i-think-energy-is-an/) [Matthew Lillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lillard/) > [With breast cancer, it's all about detection. You have to educate young women and encourage them to do everything they have to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/with-breast-cancer-it-s-all-about-detection-you-have-to-educate-young/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [“Soar to heights where you may view the world from a new perspective.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fennel-hudson/soar-to-heights-where-you-may-view-the-world-from-a-new-perspective/) [Fennel Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fennel-hudson/) > [Having kids is the deal-breaker on shyness! Once you have a baby, you learn to speak up loud and clear to protect them, defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/having-kids-is-the-deal-breaker-on-shyness-once-you-have-a-baby-you/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [“At this time of the year it seems that everything ought to be creative, not destructive, and that we should encourage things to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/at-this-time-of-the-year-it-seems-that-everything-ought-to-be/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [Strong leaders encourage you to do things for your own benefit, not just theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-tebow/strong-leaders-encourage-you-to-do-things-for-your-own-benefit-not/) [Tim Tebow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-tebow/) > [“Be happy with yourself to encourage others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/be-happy-with-yourself-to-encourage-others/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“Mitch," he said, "the culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you're about to die. We're so wrapped up in egotistical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/mitch-he-said-the-culture-doesn-t-encourage-you-to-think-about-such/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [If you know how to encourage dishearten person and pray for him, the words you speak become Gods will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-bansal/if-you-know-how-to-encourage-dishearten-person-and-pray-for-him-the/) [Kishore Bansal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-bansal/) Browse all 609 Encourage quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Ascham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a-good-wit-and-encourage-a-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Encourage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a-good-wit-and-encourage-a-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/roger-ascham-21236_encourage_there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a_2721419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such whetstone, to sharpen a good wit and encourage a will to learning, as is praise.” — Roger Ascham", "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": "Roger Ascham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no such whetstone, to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a-good-wit-and-encourage-a-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/there-is-no-such-whetstone-to-sharpen-a-good-wit-and-encourage-a-will/#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 } } ] } ```