--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A liberal education rests on the…" description: "\"A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature and human nature do not change very much or very fast and that one therefore needs to understan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg" --- # A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature… ![“A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature and human nature do not change very much or very fast and that one therefore needs to understand the past.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg) > “A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature and human nature do not change very much or very fast and that one therefore needs to understand the past.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A liberal education assumes stable nature and human nature, emphasizing historical understanding to navigate change. **In simple terms:** Education relies on past knowledge about nature and humanity. Key Takeaway Study history to inform present decisions. Themes education history human nature Mood thoughtful academic Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - policy making - curriculum design - personal growth Key Concepts continuity philosophy cultural literacy Questions to Reflect On - How does history guide modern challenges? - What assumptions about nature are outdated? A Different Perspective Change may outpace historical lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Liberal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal/) [Liberal education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-education/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature And Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-and-human/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“It could be said that a liberal education has the nature of a bequest, in that it looks upon the student as the potential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-could-be-said-that-a-liberal-education-has-the-nature-of-a-bequest/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Public education rests precariously on the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/public-education-rests-precariously-on-the-skill-and-virtue-of-the/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“A liberal education is not so much about learning to do a job as it is about learning to learn, and to love learning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hartley/a-liberal-education-is-not-so-much-about-learning-to-do-a-job-as-it/) [Scott Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hartley/) > [There is no liberal education for the under-languaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/there-is-no-liberal-education-for-the-under-languaged/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [I lament the want of a liberal education. I feel the mist of ignorance to surround me - Nathanael Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-lament-the-want-of-a-liberal-education-i-feel-the-mist-of-ignorance/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A liberal education is at the heart of a civil society, and at the heart of a liberal education is the act of teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/a-liberal-education-is-at-the-heart-of-a-civil-society-and-at-the/) [A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/) > [A liberal education is that which aims to develop faculty without ulterior views of profession or other means of gaining a livelihood. It considers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/a-liberal-education-is-that-which-aims-to-develop-faculty-without/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Juries must, of necessity, be governed, in reaching many results through inferences from other facts, by certain laws of nature and human reason. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-woodbury/juries-must-of-necessity-be-governed-in-reaching-many-results-through/) [Levi Woodbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-woodbury/) > [“In urbanisation, the suburbs are just as monocultural (as agriculture), with a lifestyle that maximises the excessive consumption of material goods in an astonishingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/in-urbanisation-the-suburbs-are-just-as-monocultural-as-agriculture/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [“Writing is one method for revising a person’s outlook on life and observing the world and one’s place therein from an altered perspective. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/writing-is-one-method-for-revising-a-person-s-outlook-on-life-and/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [The blessing of God is in the natural dressing of Mother Nature and human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/the-blessing-of-god-is-in-the-natural-dressing-of-mother-nature-and/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [“Real value come from nature and human resources, both of which we already possess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/real-value-come-from-nature-and-human-resources-both-of-which-we/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“We are violating every aspect of life by turning everything into a ripoff because we have adopted the view that insatiable individualistic greed must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/we-are-violating-every-aspect-of-life-by-turning-everything-into-a/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [Trains are wonderful… To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact, to see life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/trains-are-wonderful-to-travel-by-train-is-to-see-nature-and-human/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Perhaps there were a few repetitions here and there. But I would like to confess that I consider nature and human life to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/perhaps-there-were-a-few-repetitions-here-and-there-but-i-would-like/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. 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Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Assumption quotes > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [The possibility of saying anything about a thing rests on the assumption that it preserves its identity, or continues to be the same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-knight/the-possibility-of-saying-anything-about-a-thing-rests-on-the/) [Frank Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-knight/) > [She spent hours drawing on her own, trying to perfect her craft. And when she got into music, she had that same diligence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-joplin/she-spent-hours-drawing-on-her-own-trying-to-perfect-her-craft-and/) [Laura Joplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-joplin/) > [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Leadership, pure and simple, is the assumption of responsibility for the pursuit of excellence in group life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selznick/leadership-pure-and-simple-is-the-assumption-of-responsibility-for/) Philip Selznick > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [When I see a fan coming over, I can't help but make an assumption about what they want to talk about. A middle-aged American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/when-i-see-a-fan-coming-over-i-can-t-help-but-make-an-assumption/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. 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That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Browse all 1,277 Assumption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature and human nature do not change very much or very fast and that one therefore needs to understand the past.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumption-that-nature-and-human/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assumption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumption-that-nature-and-human/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b4/wendell-berry-236_assumption_a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumpt_2709434.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A liberal education rests on the assumption that nature and human nature do not change very much or very…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A liberal education rests on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumption-that-nature-and-human/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-liberal-education-rests-on-the-assumption-that-nature-and-human/#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 } } ] } ```