A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discovers are among them, as comets amongst the stars.
Interpretation
A great professor shines through their ability to nurture talented students who can make significant discoveries.
This quote by Carl Linnaeus emphasizes the importance of a teacher's role in recognizing and fostering the potential of bright students. By encouraging clever pupils, professors not only elevate their own status but also contribute to meaningful discoveries, likening these intelligent students to comets that stand out amongst the stars in the vast sky of knowledge.
In practice
During a graduation speech, a speaker can remind students of the importance of supportive teachers.
Of what use are the great number of petrifactions, of different species, shape and form which are dug up by naturalists? Perhaps the collection of such specimens is sheer vanity and inquisitiveness. I do not presume to say; but we find in our mountains the rarest animals, shells, mussels, and corals embalmed in stone, as it were, living specimens of which are now being sought in vain throughout Europe. These stones alone whisper in the midst of general silence.
There are as many species as the infinite being created diverse forms in the beginning, which, following the laws of generation, produced many others, but always similar to them: therefore there are as many species as we have different structures before us today.
I demand of you, and of the whole world, that you show me a generic character... by which to distinguish between Man and Ape. I myself most assuredly know of none.
Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring, for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of birds.
To learn anything other than the stuff you find in books, you need to be able to experiment, to make mistakes, to accept feedback, and to try again. It doesn't matter whether you are learning to ride a bike or starting a new career, the cycle of experiment, feedback, and new experiment is always there.
They're fancy talkers about themselves, writers. If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.
A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.
Do not address your readers as though they were gathered together in a stadium. When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing to each of them a letter on behalf of your client.
Every time you make a rule you take away a choice, and choice, with all of its illuminating repercussions, is the fuel for learning.
New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.
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