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It is no small mischief to a boy, that many of the best years of his life should be devoted to the learning of what can never be of any real use to any human being. His mind is necessarily rendered frivolous and superficial by the long habit of attaching importance to words instead of things; to sound instead of sense.

— William Cobbett

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More quotes by William Cobbett

Nothing is so well calculated to produce a death-like torpor in the country as an extended system of taxation and a great national debt.

The profession of arms is always the most honourable.

Men of integrity are generally pretty obstinate in adhering to an opinion once adopted.

Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine (1796)

However roguish a man may be, he always loves to deal with an honest man.

All that I can boast of in my birth, is, that I was born in Old England.

Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine (1796)

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Attribution

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