“That, I saw, was the victory you Spartans had gained over yourselves. That was the glue. It was what you had learned and it made me stay, to learn it too.”
“Careful the things you say,
Children will listen.
Careful the things you do,
Children will see.
And learn.
Children may not obey
But children will listen.
Children will look to you
For which way to turn,
To learn what to be.
Careful before you say,
“Listen to me.”
Children will listen.”
“When you learn, teach.
When you get, give”
“But still, like dust, I’ll rise”
“I’m not on top
but I call it swell
if I’m able to work
and get paid right...”
“I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”
“Then, you’ve got a lot to learn about freight cars, Thomas. They are silly things and must be kept in their place. After pushing them about here for a few weeks, you’ll know almost as much about them as Edward. Then you’ll be a Really Useful Engine.”
“He worked hard - he knew now that he wasn’t as clever as he had thought. Besides, Sir Topham Hatt had been kind to him, and he wanted to learn all about freight cars so he could be a Really Useful Engine.”
“But mind maidens, he must not see you, or know that you are here. He is but a savage now, and like the beasts which perish; and from the beasts which perish he must learn. So you must not play with him, or speak to him, or let him see you: but only keep him from being harmed.”
“Your gardeners do not understand their business: but what can you expect of men whose fathers were cobblers and carpenters? How should they have learned to cultivate your garden?”
“Johnny lay with his eyes closed. Ma didn’t understand. Maybe she though he was lazy. Maybe she couldn’t feel the need that he had, the need to learn. He’d been to school for years now and he’d tried, he really had, but there were many children and no enough teachers; not enough books.”
“But the dresses must serve another purpose now. Would they bring enough to pay her passage on a ship? Fine cloth like this was rare in Connecticut. In many families, she had learned, one dress such as these would be handed down through three generations as a cherished possession.”
“And now they’ve got to change their minds about the world. It’s different from what they’ve learned. It’s a world where humans take the first place. Human beings master them. They have to obey. Humans are the most important of all. But they’ll soon learn.”
“Sometimes they went because their masters were obliged to go away from home on trips or business. Sometimes a cat was sent to School to learn good manners.”
“At School
Five little Girls, sitting on a form,
Five little Girls, with lessons to learn,
Five little Girls, who, I’m afraid,
Won’t know them a bit when they have to be said.
For little eyes are given to look
Anywhere else than on their book;
And little thoughts are given to stray
Anywhere-ever so far away.”
At least, it was praiseworthy ambition for him to desire to be as accomplished as Linton; and probably he did not learn merely to show off: you had made him ashamed of his ignorance before, I have no doubt; and he wished to remedy it and please you.