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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Mid-sentence fragment in Gandhi's archaic oratorical style ('And whilst he may not claim superiority by reason of learning...'); specific source not located.
About this quote
Knowledge earns real respect, yet that respect isn't a rank to hold over anyone. The idea keeps two things apart: you can honor what a person knows without letting them — or yourself — treat that knowing as a license to look down on those who know less.
When to use it
- A senior engineer whose expertise the team values, though she never pulls rank in a disagreement.
- A grandmother whose deep cooking knowledge everyone honors while she lords it over no one in the kitchen.
- A student who respects a professor's scholarship yet feels no smaller as a person for knowing less.