A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This suggests that education can increase a person's capacity for harm or corruption, not just good.
- In plain terms
- Education can help people do bigger bad things, not just good things.
- What can you take from it?
- Education without ethics can lead to greater harm.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does education make people more ethical?
- How do we ensure knowledge serves the public good?
Another view
This view ignores that education often reduces crime.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.
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