Philosophy is odious and obscure;
Both law and physic are for petty wits;
Divinity is basest of the three,
Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile:
‘Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish’d me.Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 1, sc. 1 (sc. 1), l. 138ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)
(Source)
Declaring to the magicians Valdes and Cornelius his decision to pursue magical studies.
Goethe's Faust (1808-1829) includes a similar litany of studies the title character feels are useless.
In the generally longer 1616 "B" text (l. 131ff), the lines about Divinity studies are omitted:Philosophy is odious and obscure:
Both Law and Physicke are for petty wits,
Tis Magicke, Magicke that hath ravisht me.
Quotations about:
studies
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning, by study; and studies themselves, do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Studies,” Essays, No. 50 (1625)
(Source)
The elevation of the mind ought to be the principal end of all our studies.
Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful, 1.19 (1756)
Crafty men condemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use them.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Studies,” Essays, No. 50 (1625)
(Source)
An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
(Attributed)
The first found reference is after Huxley's death, and it's most likely based on a variant by someone else. More discussion here.
