You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird… So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing—that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.

About Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of natural philosophy, guided by the scientific method, and his works...

More quotations from Francis Bacon

By far the best proof is experience.

—Francis Bacon

experience

In charity there is no excess.

—Francis Bacon

charity

People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.

—Francis Bacon

beauty

The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.

—Francis Bacon

mystery art

It is impossible to love and to be wise.

—Francis Bacon

More quotations tagged with “knowledge”

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned.

—Samuel Johnson

knowledge

To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.

—Richard Feynman

knowledge

We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that a savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter.

—Richard Feynman

knowledge

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it.

—Oliver Wendell Holmes

knowledge

People are difficult to govern because they have too much knowledge.

—Olin Miller

knowledge

History

11 Jul 2015 Added
14 Jul 2015 Edited (details weren’t recorded yet)
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing -- that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.