“Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.”
Ambrose Bierce book The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
“And weave fine cobwebs, fit for skull
That's empty when the moon is full;
Such as take lodgings in a head
That's to be let unfurnished.”
Canto I, line 159
Source: Hudibras, Part I (1663–1664)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Do you have more details about the quote "And weave fine cobwebs, fit for skull
That's empty when the moon is full;
Such as take lodgings in a head
That's to …" by Samuel Butler (poet)?
Samuel Butler (poet)81
poet and satirist 1612–1680Related quotes
“The moon, full orbed, forsakes her watery cave,
And lifts her lovely head above the wave…”
Luís de Camões (1524–1580) Portuguese poet
Da Lua os claros raios rutilavam...
Stanza 58 line 1 (as translated by William Julius Mickle). Compare:
As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night,
Over heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light...
Homer, The Iliad, VIII. 551–555 (tr. Alexander Pope)
Epic poetry, Os Lusíadas (1572), Canto I
Sue Monk Kidd book The Secret Life of Bees
Variant: You have to know when to prod and when to be quiet, when to let things take their course.
Source: The Secret Life of Bees
Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher
Source: Reflections on the Human Condition (1973), p. 54 of a 1974 edition
“When Woman comes at me
do I let her take the bridle,
or turn away the head?”
John Carder Bush (1944) British artist; brother of Kate Bush
Control: A translation (1974)