When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.
SaadiRead
However much you study, you cannot know without action. A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man. Empty of essence, what learning has he whether upon him is firewood or book?
Interpretation
Knowledge is meaningless without practical application; simply studying does not equate to wisdom.
In this quote, Saadi emphasizes that acquiring knowledge through study is not sufficient in itself; one must also engage in action to truly understand and attain wisdom. A mere accumulation of information, likened to a donkey burdened with books, lacks substance and does not lead to intellectual or wise outcomes without real-world application and experience.
In practice
In a speech emphasizing the importance of practical skills in education.
When the belly is empty, the body becomes spirit; and when it is full, the spirit becomes body.
A friend whom you have been gaining during your whole life, you ought not to be displeased with in a moment. A stone is many years becoming a ruby - take care that you do not destroy it in an instant against another stone.
The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the earth.
Ants, fighting together, will vanquish the lion.
An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend, excepting lust, the indulgence of which increases its enmity.
Human beings are members of a whole,_x000D_ In creation of one essence and soul._x000D_ If one member is afflicted with pain,_x000D_ Other members uneasy will remain._x000D_ If you have no sympathy for human pain,_x000D_ The name of human you cannot retain.
A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition. Like money, books must be kept in constant circulation. Lend and borrow to the maximum.
Look to the past to help create the future. Look to science and to poetry. Combine innovation and interpretation. We need the best of both. And it is universities that best provide them.
It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.
There is nothing so costly as ignorance.
If people want to be better writers, they can't just read the blogs! You've got to look at something that's outside this rushing world of evanescent words.
I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less showily.
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