--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We covet experience; we have a secret…" description: "\"We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not from cold prohibition, but from trial, whether those things, which are not without a semblan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png" --- # We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not… ![“We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not from cold prohibition, but from trial, whether those things, which are not without a semblance of good, are really so ill as they are described to us.” quote by William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png) > “We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not from cold prohibition, but from trial, whether those things, which are not without a semblance of good, are really so ill as they are described to us.” [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The desire to learn comes from curiosity and experimentation, not from imposed restrictions; we must test ideas to discover their true value. **In simple terms:** Learning is driven by curiosity and testing, not bans. Key Takeaway Embrace trial to uncover truth. Themes curiosity learning experimentation Mood inquisitive reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - scientific research - personal growth - policy analysis Key Concepts philosophy epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you accept without testing? - How can safe experimentation be encouraged? A Different Perspective Trial may be costly or risky without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire to learn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-to-learn/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Secret desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-desire/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned that you can go anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do and buy all the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c-2/i-have-learned-that-you-can-go-anywhere-you-want-to-go-and-do/) [C JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c-2/) > [If you have strong desire to learn, the age nothing binding you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/if-you-have-strong-desire-to-learn-the-age-nothing-binding-you/) Mak\_786 > [Why does LIFE keep teaching me Lessons when…I don't even have desire to learn them!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-does-life-keep-teaching-me-lessons-when-i-don-t-even-have-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [NVC is interested in learning that is motivated by reverence for life, by a desire to learn skills, to contribute better to our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/nvc-is-interested-in-learning-that-is-motivated-by-reverence-for-life/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [“Education stems from the desire to learn. With that, you don't need schools. Without it, all the schools in the UNIVERSE are useless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-brewer/education-stems-from-the-desire-to-learn-with-that-you-don-t-need/) Gene Brewer > [I don't have any desire to learn. I feel it's like a voodoo, that it would spoil things if I actually learnt how things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-don-t-have-any-desire-to-learn-i-feel-it-s-like-a-voodoo-that-it/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [“To delight in literature is to desire to learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-delight-in-literature-is-to-desire-to-learn/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I have a tremendous desire to learn, and to grow, and to develop whatever I have that will make for any kind of improvement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-welk/i-have-a-tremendous-desire-to-learn-and-to-grow-and-to-develop/) [Lawrence Welk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-welk/) > [Wonder implies the desire to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/wonder-implies-the-desire-to-learn/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Beyond any gift or treasure, I desire to learn to read. (Lia ~ The Wretched of Muirwood)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/beyond-any-gift-or-treasure-i-desire-to-learn-to-read-lia-the/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [Why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-does-life-keep-teaching-me-lessons-i-have-no-desire-to-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always desire to learn something useful. --Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/always-desire-to-learn-something-useful-sophocles/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Experience fails to teach where there is no desire to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/experience-fails-to-teach-where-there-is-no-desire-to-learn/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Education, is not just simply the progress of school, it is having the ability and desire to learn on your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawley-kramer/education-is-not-just-simply-the-progress-of-school-it-is-having-the/) Rawley Kramer > [Always desire to learn something useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/always-desire-to-learn-something-useful/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) ## More by William Godwin > [I know nothing worth the living for but usefulness and the service of my fellow-creatures. The only object I pursue is to increase, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/i-know-nothing-worth-the-living-for-but-usefulness-and-the-service-of/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [He that loves reading has everything within his reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/he-that-loves-reading-has-everything-within-his-reach/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and apprehend a thousand things which we do not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/there-must-be-room-for-the-imagination-to-exercise-its-powers-we-must/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [In infamy, it is wisely provided that he who stands highest in the ranks of society has the heaviest load to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/in-infamy-it-is-wisely-provided-that-he-who-stands-highest-in-the/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/no-man-knows-the-value-of-innocence-and-integrity-but-he-who-has-lost/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Study with desire is real activity; without desire it is but the semblance and mockery of activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/study-with-desire-is-real-activity-without-desire-it-is-but-the/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [“Godwin on Fenelon and his Valet \* Following is an excerpt from William Godwin's Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Book II, Chapter II: “Of Justice”:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/godwin-on-fenelon-and-his-valet-following-is-an-excerpt-from-william/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Tenderness is the name for a lover's most exquisite sensation; protection is implied in his most generous and heart-thrilling impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/tenderness-is-the-name-for-a-lover-s-most-exquisite-sensation/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Whenever government assumes to deliver us from the trouble of thinking for ourselves, the only consequences it produces are those of torpor and imbecility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/whenever-government-assumes-to-deliver-us-from-the-trouble-of/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [During my academical life, and from this time forward, I was indefatigable in my search after truth. I read all the authors of greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/during-my-academical-life-and-from-this-time-forward-i-was/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Was ever a great discovery prosecuted or an important benefit conferred upon the human race by him who was incapable of standing and thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/was-ever-a-great-discovery-prosecuted-or-an-important-benefit/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [The real or supposed rights of man are of two kinds, active and passive; the right in certain cases to do as we list;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/the-real-or-supposed-rights-of-man-are-of-two-kinds-active-and/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Soundness of understanding is connected with freedom of enquiry; consequently, opinion should, as far as public security will admit, be exempted from restraint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/soundness-of-understanding-is-connected-with-freedom-of-enquiry/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [Power is not happiness. Security and peace are more to be desired than a man at which nations tremble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/power-is-not-happiness-security-and-peace-are-more-to-be-desired-than/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [“Strange that men, from age to age, should consent to hold their lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/strange-that-men-from-age-to-age-should-consent-to-hold-their-lives/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) [Explore all 193 William Godwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) Jimy Williams > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not from cold prohibition, but from trial, whether those things, which are not without a semblance of good, are really so ill as they are described to us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Godwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-desire-to-learn-not-from-cold/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-desire-to-learn-not-from-cold/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f25/william-godwin-1978_cold_we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-des_3044741.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We covet experience; we have a secret desire to learn, not from cold prohibition, but from trial, whether…” — William Godwin", "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": "William Godwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We covet experience; we have a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-desire-to-learn-not-from-cold/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/we-covet-experience-we-have-a-secret-desire-to-learn-not-from-cold/#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 } } ] } ```