Knowledge is, indeed, that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another. It finishes one half of the human Soul. It makes Being pleasant to us, fills the mind with entertaining views, and administers to it a perpetual series of gratifications. It gives ease to solitude and gracefulness to retirement. It fills a publick station with suitable abilities, and adds a lustre to those who are in possession of them.

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, statesman

Guardian, No. 111 (1713-07-18)
    (Source)