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Gilbert Highet

Gilbert Highet Biography

Writer

Gilbert Highet was a British writer born on June 22, 1906, and died on January 20, 1978. His works spanned various genres including literary criticism, travel literature, and novels, and he was known for his unique literary style and profound insights.

Gilbert Highet was a British writer born on June 22, 1906, and died on January 20, 1978. His works spanned various genres including literary criticism, travel literature, and novels, and he was known for his unique literary style and profound insights.

Related Quotes

“Nobody has ever thought himself to death. The chief danger confronting us is not age. It is laziness, sloth, routine, stupidity, - forcing their way in like wind through the shutters, seeping into the cellar like swamp water.”

Way Age Water Danger Wind Stupidity Chiefs Routine Laziness Sloth Confronting Swamps Cellars Shutters

Book:The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

Source: The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

“A period of high civilization is one in which thoughts fly freely from mind to mind, from one country to another-yes, from the past into the present.”

Mind Country Past Periods Civilization

Book:The migration of ideas: three lectures delivered on the North Foundation at Franklin and Marshall College on 18 and 19 March 1954

Source: The migration of ideas: three lectures delivered on the North Foundation at Franklin and Marshall College on 18 and 19 March 1954

“The art of invective resembles the art of boxing. Very few fights are won with the straight left. It is too obvious, and it can betoo easily countered. The best punches, like the best pieces of invective in this style, are either short-arm jabs, unexpectedly rapid and deadly; or else one-two blows, where you prepare your opponent with the first hit, and then, as his face comes forward, connect with your other fist: one, two. Both are effective; but they can be administered only by a real artist, with a real wish to knock his enemy out.”

Firsts Art Two Real Faces Artist Fighting Left Wish Enemy Pieces Style Arms Blow Obvious Opponents Boxing Fists Rapids Real Artists

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Know the subject; love the subject; like your students; know your students.”

Knows Subjects Students Like You

Author:Gilbert Highet

“History is a strange experience. The world is quite small now; but history is large and deep. Sometimes you can go much farther by sitting in your own home and reading a book of history, than by getting onto a ship or an airplane and traveling a thousand miles.”

World Book Sometimes Home Reading Strange Thousand Sitting Miles Ships Airplane Thousand Miles

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Language is a living thing”

Language Living Things

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Like all great teachers he knew that a picture is worth a thousand words and that people learn most quickly by doing something or seeing something done.”

People Inspirational Done Education Teacher Seeing Education And Teachers Teacher And Student Teachers Learning From Students

Author:Gilbert Highet

“He meant that when people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, master and pupils, jailer and prisoners. They become a single group of human beings enjoying its existence.”

People Humans Together Young Enjoy Human Beings Existence Laughing Learning Groups Masters Cease Prisoner Pupils Be Young Young And Old Jailer

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“A very wise old teacher once said: I consider a day's teaching wasted if we do not all have one hearty laugh.”

Ifs Said Laughing Teacher Wise Teaching Very Wise Hearty

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“The wise teacher knows that 55 minutes of work plus 5 minutes laughter are worth twice as much as 60 minutes of unvaried work.”

Knows Teacher Wise Minutes Laughter Plus

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, some kind of teaching. We are all pupils and we are all teachers.”

Kind Young Justice Teacher Teaching Diversity Social Justice Experts Pupils Beginners

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.”

Mind Book Political Alive Paper Curiosity Shelves Lumps Lifeless Old Books

Book:The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

Source: The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

“The aim of those who try to control thought is always the same. They find one single explanation of the world, one system of thought and action that will (they believe) cover everything; and then they try to impose that on all thinking people.”

People Thinking World Trying Believe Action Fear Atheism Aim Rage Explanation Thoughts And Actions

Book:Man's Unconquerable Mind

Source: Man's Unconquerable Mind

“A teacher must believe in the value and interest of his subject as a doctor believes in health.”

Inspirational Believe Values Belief Interest Education Teacher Teaching Subjects Doctors

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“What is politics but persuading the public to vote for this and support that and endure these for the promise of those?”

Political Politics Support Promise Vote Endure Persuading

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Many people have played themselves to death. Many people have eaten and drunk themselves to death. Nobody ever thought himself to death.”

People Habit Drunk

Book:The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

Source: The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

“These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart.”

Men Mind Heart Book Reading Voice Space Rooms Alive Paper Opening Range Volume Buttons Shelves Time And Space Lumps Lifeless Heart To Heart Mind Heart

Author:Gilbert Highet

“The real duty of man is not to extend his power or multiply his wealth beyond his needs, but to enrich and enjoy his imperishable possession: his soul.”

Men Needs Real Soul Enjoy Wealth Duty Possession

Book:The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature

Source: The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature

“The chief aim of education is to show you, after you make a livelihood, how to enjoy living; and you can live longest and best and most rewardingly by attaining and preserving the happiness of learning.”

Shows Enjoy Aim Chiefs Livelihood Aim Of Education

Book:The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

Source: The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning

“A good teacher is a determined person”

Persons Teacher Determined Good Teacher

Author:Gilbert Highet

“The Sonnets of Shakespeare have the fascination of an autobiography, without its clarity. It is like reading an important document in a cave by the light of matches which keep blowing out.”

Important Light Reading Clarity Documents Autobiography Caves Fascination Sonnet

Author:Gilbert Highet

“I believe that much of the maladjustment in our societies is caused, not by malevolence and corruption, but simply by ignorance.”

Believe I Believe Ignorance Corruption Our Society Malevolence

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“Leisure is one of the three greatest rewards of being a teacher. It is, unfortunately, the privilege which teachers most often misuse.”

Three Teacher Rewards Privilege Leisure Misuse Being A Teacher

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“Most Americans do not like poetry. We may respect it, but we do not enjoy it.”

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Poetry is halfway between prose and music: it is sometimes like an intimate conversation, in words and phrases which need not be fully uttered, and sometimes like dancing and wordless music.”

Needs Sometimes Conversation Dancing Phrases Intimate Prose Poetry Is Halfway Intimate Conversation

Author:Gilbert Highet

“Many of the snarly bad-tempered teachers whom we remember with hatred were really nice people soured by years of anxiety and penny-pinching.”

People Years Remember Poverty Teacher Nice Anxiety Hatred Pennies Really Nice Nice People Pinching

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“The teacher's chief difficulty is poverty. He (or she) belongs to a badly paid profession. He cannot dress and live like a workman, but he is sometimes paid as little as an unskilled laborer.”

Littles Sometimes Poverty Teacher Difficulty Paid Dresses Profession Chiefs Laborers Workmen

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“Many of the twisted minds and crippled characters in the world were made by careless parents who kept their children away from knives and fires, but put permanent scars on their souls.”

World Mind Children Made Soul Character Parent Fire Personality Permanent Knives Scar Twisted Careless Crippled Twisted Minds

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“At certain times and in certain schools it is orthodox to be a rebel; and in general it is a very poor class that does not contain at least three pupils who can be counted on to oppose the teachers authority and loudly and persistently to question everything he says.”

Doe School Certain Three Poor Class Teacher Authority Rebellion Orthodox Rebel Pupils

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“The best school in the world will scarcely save a boy who hates the school and the purpose it serves and the society that created it.”

World School Purpose Hate Boys Best School

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“The young do not demand omniscience. They know it is unattainable. They do demand sincerity.”

Knows Young Demand Sincerity Unattainable Omniscience

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“Bad teaching wastes a great deal of effort, and spoils many lives which might have been full of energy and happiness.”

Has Beens Might Energy Deals Effort Teaching Waste Might Have Been Spoil

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“If you do not actually like boys and girls, or young men and young women, give up teaching.”

Ifs Men Giving Young Girl Boys Teaching Giving Up Young Man Young Women Boy And Girl Like A Boy

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“You [the teacher] do not merely insert a lot of facts, if you teach them [the students] properly. It is not like injecting 500 cc. of serum, or administering a year's dose of vitamins.”

Ifs Years Facts Teach Teacher Teaching Students Dose Vitamins Insert

Author:Gilbert Highet

“The mind never need stop growing. Indeed, one of the few experiences which never pall is the experience of watching one's own mind and how it produces new interests, responds to new stimuli, and develops new thoughts, apparently without effort and almost independently of one's own conscious control.”

Needs Mind Interest Effort Growing Produce Conscious Stimulus New Thought

Author:Gilbert Highet

“The relation between parents and children is essentially based on teaching.”

Children Parent Teaching Relation Children And Parents

Book:THE ART OF TEACHING

Source: THE ART OF TEACHING

“Language is a living thing. We can feel it changing. Parts of it become old: they drop off and are forgotten. New pieces bud out, spread into leaves, and become big branches, proliferating.”

Feels Writing Bigs Language Pieces Forgotten Spread Branches Living Things Bud

Author:Gilbert Highet

About the Author

Born: June 22, 1906
Died: January 20, 1978
Known for: Writer
Quotes: 37

Related Topics

Teacher Teaching Mind People Enjoy World Young Believe Book Chiefs

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

THE ART OF TEACHINGRelated source material

The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and LearningRelated source material

Man's Unconquerable MindRelated source material

The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western LiteratureRelated source material

The migration of ideas: three lectures delivered on the North Foundation at Franklin and Marshall College on 18 and 19 March 1954Related source material

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