Inquiry quotes
170 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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Browse quotes that often appear alongside inquiry — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim."
"Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error."
"When the multitude detests a man, inquiry is necessary; when the multitude likes a man, inquiry is equally necessary."
"Meditation is not a process of learning how to meditate; it is the very inquiry into what is meditation. To inquire into what is meditation, the mind must free itself from what it has learnt about meditation, and the freeing of the mind from what it has learnt is the beginning of meditation."
"Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth. What you now call the free play of inquiry has neither more nor less to do with the ends for which intelligence was given you than masturbation has to do with marriage."
"There is no thought or situation that you can't put up against inquiry. Every thought, every person, every apparent problem is here for the sake of your freedom."
"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim."
"At almost every step in life we meet with young men from whom we anticipate wonderful things, but of whom, after careful inquiry, we never hear another word. Life certain chintzes, calicoes, and ginghams, they show finely on their first newness, but cannot stand the sun and rain, and assume a very sober aspect after washing day."
"Inviting people to inquiry is much more powerful to me than describing my experience... When people hear me tell the story, they often say, "Oh my goodness, I get it. I get it!" But it's not enough."
"for we are inquiring not in order to know what virtue is, but in order to become good, since otherwise our inquiry would have been of no use"
"To talk in public, to think in solitude, to read and to hear, to inquire and answer inquiries, is the business of the scholar"
"Vanity is so frequently the apparent motive of advice, that we, for the most part, summon our powers to oppose it without any very accurate inquiry whether it is right."
"In a republican nation whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of first importance.... Reason and persuasion are the only practicable instruments. To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged.... Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them."
"The sum total of all possible knowledge of God is not possible for a human being, not even through a true revelation. But it is one of the worthiest inquiries to see how far our reason can go in the knowledge of God."
"It is a shameful thing to be weary of inquiry when what we search for is excellent."
"As it is, lovers of inquiry must follow their beloved wherever it may lead."
"The words "question" and "quest" are cognates. Only through inquiry can we discover truth."
"With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries."
"A kiss is an inquiry on the second floor as to what's going on on the first floor."
"How do we get out of our small mind? When we enquire into the core of our existence. What is life? Who am I? This spirit of self-inquiry can awaken something inside you."
