Thomas Carlyle? Benjamin Franklin? Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Johann P. F. Richter? Minna Antrim? Heinrich Heine? William Ralph Inge?
Dear Quote Investigator: The most memorable and painful lessons are usually learned via direct experience, but the cost can be very high. A family of adages depict this point of view. Here are two instances:
- Experience is a good school, but the fees are heavy.
- Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition is exorbitant.
This saying has been credited to Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle, German writer Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, U.S. writer Minna Antrim, and others. Would you please explore this topic.
Quote Investigator: This saying has been circulating and evolving for many years; hence this is a complex topic. Here is a chronological sampling which presents a snapshot of current research:
1743: (Precursor) Experience keeps a dear school, yet Fools will learn in no other. (Benjamin Franklin)
1828: Experience is the best of schoolmasters; only the school-fees are heavy. (Thomas Carlyle)
1843: Dear bought experience is the only effectual schoolmaster. (Anon)
1856: Experience is the only schoolmaster; although the school-fees are somewhat heavy. (Attributed to Johann Paul Friedrich Richter)
1863 Experience is the best schoolmaster, but the school-fees are heavy. (Attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
1874: Experience and practice are the best schoolmasters; but the school fees are somewhat heavy. (Attributed to Johann Paul Friedrich Richter)
1893: Experience was the best of schools, but unfortunately the fees charged in it were extremely high. (Attributed to Heinrich Heine)
1902: Experience is a good teacher but she sends in terrific bills. (Minna T. Antrim)
1927: Experience is a good school, but the fees are high. (Attributed to Heinrich Heine)
1968: Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition is much too high. (Anon)
The 1743 statement “Experience keeps a dear school” was a precursor that appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack”. The adjective “dear” meant costly or expensive. There is a separate QI article about this statement available here.
In 1828 Thomas Carlyle published an article in “The Foreign Review” of London discussing the works of the major German literary figure Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Carlyle employed the adage when he was commenting on Goethe’s version of the legendary character Faust. Carlyle believed that Faust would learn from his experiences. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1]1828, The Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany, Volume 1, Number 2, Goethe’s Helena (Review of Goethe’s Sämmtliche Werke), Start Page 429, Quote Page 438, Black, Young, and Young, … Continue reading
Experience, indeed, will teach him, for ‘Experience is the best of schoolmasters; only the school-fees are heavy.’
Carlyle enclosed the adage within quotation marks suggesting that it was already in circulation. Thus, Carlyle can be credited with popularizing the saying, but he may not be its originator.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading “Experience Is the Best of Schoolmasters; Only the School-Fees Are Heavy”
Dear Quote Investigator: Surprisingly, one of the founding fathers of the United States was skeptical about the long-term viability of democracy. The statesman believed that the proponents of democracy were philosophically immature. He was sympathetic to a young person of fifteen who found the system attractive, but he felt that someone over twenty should view a democratic system with suspicion. Would you please help me to find a citation.
Dear Quote Investigator: An entertaining quip contrasts the attitudes of the dreamer and the worrier:
Dear Quote Investigator: Some people are only able to learn via direct experience. They disregard the lessons and the struggles of others. Yet, this experiential approach can be quite costly. The fees incurred may be measured in time expended, energy drained, money squandered, and injuries suffered.
Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent poet Robert Frost did not compose free verse. Instead, he welcomed the structural demands of rhyme and meter. To explicate his choice he used a clever and vivid simile from the domain of tennis. Would you please help me to find a citation?
Dear Quote Investigator: One’s attitude toward life has an enormous effect on one’s experiences in life. Here are two statements on this theme:
Dear Quote Investigator: The ability to envision something novel and appealing is vital to the formulation and accomplishment of worthwhile goals. A robust imagination initiates the process.
Dear Quote Investigator: There is a trenchant family of fatalistic sayings concerning the solemnity of life. Here are four examples:
Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of sayings about the difficulty of compelling obedience. Here are three instances: