42 Quotes by Hugh Nibley

The very helplessness of the public which makes it necessary for them to consult the experts also makes it impossible for them to judge how expert they are.

And the issue is never the merits of the evidence but always the jealous rivalry of the contestants to see which would be the official light unto the world. Right down to the present day we have been the spectators of a foolish contest between equally vain and bigoted rivals.

All scholarship, like all science, is an ongoing, open-ended discussion in which all conclusions are tentative forever, the principal value and charm of the game being the discovery of the totally unexpected.

At UCLA I quickly learned the knack of getting grades, a craven surrender to custom, since grades had little to do with learning.

Being self-taught is no disgrace; but being self-certified is another matter.

You can only expand your capacities by working to the very limit.

As knowledge increases, the verdict of yesterday must be reversed today, and in the long run the most positive authority is the least to be trusted.

Careerism is the determination to reign in hell rather than serve in heaven.

Why do people feel guilty about TV? What is wrong with it? Just this: it shuts out all the wonderful things of which the mind is capable, leaving it drugged in a state of thoughtless stupor.