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Such an office demands an upright and incorruptible man, who would take delight in his pious work even without any pay, while a high salary and a position of dignity would attract the meanest characters.

— Erasmus Letter to Joanes Sapidus (1581)

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More quotes by Erasmus

Do not be guilty of possessing a library of learned books while lacking learning yourself.

Letter to Christian Northoff (1497)

I am a citizen of the world, known to all and to all a stranger.

Erasmus (1970)

In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

A speech comes alive only if it rises from the heart, not if it floats on the lips.

Ciceronianus (1528)

The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.

Adagia (1508)

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Each of these private teachers who work for pay ... inculcates nothing else than these opinions of the multitude which they opine when they are assembled and calls this knowledge wisdom.

Socrates

The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness. Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.

Robin Wall Kimmerer Braiding Sweetgrass (2013)

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

John Cotton Dana

School teachers, taking them by and large, are probably the most ignorant and stupid class of men in the whole group of mental workers.

H. L. Mencken The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1908)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Erasmus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.