--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old…" description: "\"Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old Cooke, for I am sure I never was so tired of an old dull scoundrel in my life ... But the old-fellows say we mu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/thomas-jefferson-43_devil_well-page-i-do-wish-the-devil-had-old-co_3005251.jpg" --- # Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old Cooke, for I am… ![“Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old Cooke, for I am sure I never was so tired of an old dull scoundrel in my life ... But the old-fellows say we must read to gain knowledge; and gain knowledge to make us happy and be admired. Mere jargon! Is there any such thing as happiness in this world? No...” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/thomas-jefferson-43_devil_well-page-i-do-wish-the-devil-had-old-co_3005251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/thomas-jefferson-43_devil_well-page-i-do-wish-the-devil-had-old-co_3005251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/thomas-jefferson-43_devil_well-page-i-do-wish-the-devil-had-old-co_3005251.jpg) > “Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old Cooke, for I am sure I never was so tired of an old dull scoundrel in my life ... But the old-fellows say we must read to gain knowledge; and gain knowledge to make us happy and be admired. Mere jargon! Is there any such thing as happiness in this world? No...” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He questions whether knowledge truly brings happiness, suggesting that seeking knowledge for its own sake may be empty. **In simple terms:** Knowledge may not guarantee happiness. Key Takeaway Critically assess the purpose of learning. Themes knowledge happiness purpose Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical skeptical When to use this quote - education - career planning - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy skepticism meaning Questions to Reflect On - What truly brings you joy? - Is knowledge a means or an end? A Different Perspective Happiness can be found through other means. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Devil Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-old-3594659/) [Dull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dull/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) [Gains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gains/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Jargon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jargon/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-old/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Old Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-cooke-4790857/) [Page Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-wish-4790859/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Scoundrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrels/) [This world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-world/) [Tired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tired/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-devil-4790858/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The devil, that old stager, who leads downward, perhaps, but fiddles all the way!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/the-devil-that-old-stager-who-leads-downward-perhaps-but-fiddles-all/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [The attempt of Lavoisier to reform chemical nomenclature is premature. One single experiment may destroy the whole filiation of his terms; and his string…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-attempt-of-lavoisier-to-reform-chemical-nomenclature-is-premature/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ While wading through the whimsies, the puerilities, and unintelligible jargon of this work \[Plato's Republic\], I laid it down often to ask myself how… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-wading-through-the-whimsies-the-puerilities-and-unintelligible/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-every-country-and-every-age-the-priest-has-been-hostile-to-liberty/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A charmed life old goodness hath; the tares may perish, but the grain is not for death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/a-charmed-life-old-goodness-hath-the-tares-may-perish-but-the-grain/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [Trust is a big deal in life, and I'm very old-school about that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-beruff/trust-is-a-big-deal-in-life-and-i-m-very-old-school-about-that-stuff/) [Carlos Beruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-beruff/) > [No matter where you go in life or how old you get; theres always something new to learn about. After all, LIFE is full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/no-matter-where-you-go-in-life-or-how-old-you-get-theres-always/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) > [“(I) just had to show there's life in the old dog yet. (You) don't have to go out and shoot me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-idol/i-just-had-to-show-there-s-life-in-the-old-dog-yet-you-don-t-have-to/) [Billy Idol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-idol/) > [“I wish you and yours every joy in life, old chap, and tons of money, and may you never die till I shoot you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-wish-you-and-yours-every-joy-in-life-old-chap-and-tons-of-money-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“I felt old. Again. It had been happening a lot lately. I did not live the life of an old lady, but I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-felt-old-again-it-had-been-happening-a-lot-lately-i-did-not-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To grow up requires a whole life but to become old one night is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignazio-silone/to-grow-up-requires-a-whole-life-but-to-become-old-one-night-is-enough/) [Ignazio Silone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignazio-silone/) > [You cannot have a new life with an old mind. Period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-have-a-new-life-with-an-old-mind-period/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Our love of life is only an old liaison of which we do not know how to rid ourselves. Its strength lies in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/our-love-of-life-is-only-an-old-liaison-of-which-we-do-not-know-how/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“A man's life is all he has. When you're old, it's all you'll ever have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/a-man-s-life-is-all-he-has-when-you-re-old-it-s-all-you-ll-ever-have/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [Wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age (Solomon 4:8).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/wisdom-is-the-gray-hair-unto-men-and-an-unspotted-life-is-old-age/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Devil quotes > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“I tend to agree with that little devil more and more these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-tend-to-agree-with-that-little-devil-more-and-more-these-days/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/god-never-talks-but-the-devil-keeps-advertising-father-the-devil-does/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 4,283 Devil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, Page, I do wish the Devil had old Cooke, for I am sure I never was so tired of an old dull scoundrel in my life ... 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