--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Curiosity is, in great and generous…" description: "\"Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last; and perhaps always predominates in proportion to the strength of the contemp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/samuel-johnson-50_contemplative_curiosity-is-in-great-and-generous-minds_1097139.jpg" --- # Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first… ![“Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last; and perhaps always predominates in proportion to the strength of the contemplative faculties. He who easily comprehends all that is before him, and soon exhausts any single subject, is always eager for new inquiries; and in…” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/samuel-johnson-50_contemplative_curiosity-is-in-great-and-generous-minds_1097139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/samuel-johnson-50_contemplative_curiosity-is-in-great-and-generous-minds_1097139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/samuel-johnson-50_contemplative_curiosity-is-in-great-and-generous-minds_1097139.jpg) > “Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last; and perhaps always predominates in proportion to the strength of the contemplative faculties. He who easily comprehends all that is before him, and soon exhausts any single subject, is always eager for new inquiries; and in proportion as the intellectual eye takes in a wider prospect, it must be gratified with variety, by more rapid flights and bolder excursions.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A curious mind constantly seeks new knowledge, finding joy in varied intellectual pursuits. **In simple terms:** Curiosity drives endless learning. Key Takeaway Cultivate diverse interests. Themes curiosity learning intellectual growth Mood inquisitive enthusiastic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - personal development - creative problem solving Key Concepts philosophy psychology education Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance breadth and depth? - What fuels your curiosity? A Different Perspective May lead to superficial understanding without depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contemplative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplative/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Curiosity Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity-great-1588565/) [Excursions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excursions/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Faculty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculty/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Flight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flight/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-eye-2866886/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Passion Predominates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion-predominates-2866885/) [Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion/) [Proportion Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion-intellectual-401101/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Rapids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rapids/) [Subject Eager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-eager-2866884/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) ## Related quotes > [In any given society the authority of man over man runs in inverse proportion to the intellectual development of that society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/in-any-given-society-the-authority-of-man-over-man-runs-in-inverse/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [“For nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the ind as a steady purpose -- a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaycee-dugard/for-nothing-contributes-so-much-to-tranquilize-the-ind-as-a-steady/) [Jaycee Dugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaycee-dugard/) > [I am far from any intention to limit curiosity, or confine the labours of learning to arts of immediate and necessary use. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-far-from-any-intention-to-limit-curiosity-or-confine-the-labours/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The chief art of learning, as Locke has observed, is to attempt but little at a time. The widest excursions of the mind are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-chief-art-of-learning-as-locke-has-observed-is-to-attempt-but/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/curiosity-is-one-of-the-great-secrets-of-happiness/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Curiosity is a great antidote to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-monk/curiosity-is-a-great-antidote-to-fear/) [Meredith Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-monk/) > [“Healthy curiosity is a great key in innovation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/healthy-curiosity-is-a-great-key-in-innovation/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [An understanding of the natural world and what's in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/an-understanding-of-the-natural-world-and-what-s-in-it-is-a-source-of/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [Curiosity is a great weapon for the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-p-orridge/curiosity-is-a-great-weapon-for-the-artist/) [Genesis P-Orridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-p-orridge/) > [Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-in-great-and-generous-minds-the-first-passion-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's about human imagination and curiosity. What's out there? What's in the great beyond? What exists at levels we can't see with our five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/it-s-about-human-imagination-and-curiosity-what-s-out-there-what-s-in/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [This new project, 'Excursions,' has been a trip down my own memory lane before 'Minecraft,' when I aspired to create music I could hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c418/this-new-project-excursions-has-been-a-trip-down-my-own-memory-lane/) [C418](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c418/) > [What I do, the teacher of the nagual, is open up the bubble of your luminosity and allow the luminous being to take short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/what-i-do-the-teacher-of-the-nagual-is-open-up-the-bubble-of-your/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Contemplative quotes > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Composing a piece of music is very feminine. It is sensitive, emotional, contemplative. By comparison, doing housework is positively masculine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kolb/composing-a-piece-of-music-is-very-feminine-it-is-sensitive-emotional/) [Barbara Kolb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kolb/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I wonder if I am not turning into a contemplative . . . But those roses . They were something else. I was having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/i-wonder-if-i-am-not-turning-into-a-contemplative-but-those-roses/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [A lot of people do their practice. They meditate on compassion. Then they yell at people afterwards. That is not quite working. One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyong-mipham/a-lot-of-people-do-their-practice-they-meditate-on-compassion-then/) [Sakyong Mipham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyong-mipham/) > [Fish slowly and thoroughly. Haste never paid dividends. Never wory about the fellow ahead of you. If you start racing to get ahaead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bergman/fish-slowly-and-thoroughly-haste-never-paid-dividends-never-wory/) [Ray Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bergman/) > [“Oak gave up his room so they could sleep there, and although the bed is small, Cardan cannot mind when he takes Jude in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/oak-gave-up-his-room-so-they-could-sleep-there-and-although-the-bed/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-welch/each-person-comes-to-have-this-musical-experience-this-moment-with-us/) [Gillian Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-welch/) > [Since I was introduced to the practice of God's presence, which in turn led me into the contemplative way, I have nearly always felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/since-i-was-introduced-to-the-practice-of-god-s-presence-which-in/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [From about 5 years old on, I was very contemplative and started to become constantly filled with nostalgia for the present moment and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ebert/from-about-5-years-old-on-i-was-very-contemplative-and-started-to/) [Alex Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ebert/) > [ It is to this silence \[contemplative prayer\] that we all are called. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/it-is-to-this-silence-contemplative-prayer-that-we-all-are-called/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“Contemplative love seeks a heroic deed that can be accomplished without delay and in full view of everyone. Indeed, some people are even ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/contemplative-love-seeks-a-heroic-deed-that-can-be-accomplished/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [We become, after the arrival of the printing press in general, more attentive more attuned to contemplative ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/we-become-after-the-arrival-of-the-printing-press-in-general-more/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [I just think of interesting roles to play. I guess that I have matured, I guess growing up and becoming a man, your taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hartnett/i-just-think-of-interesting-roles-to-play-i-guess-that-i-have-matured/) [Josh Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hartnett/) [Browse all 237 Contemplative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last; and perhaps always predominates in proportion to the strength of the contemplative faculties. 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