“The less one says about a subject which one does not understand, the less one will say about it which is foolish.”

A compact argument for intellectual restraint · Lecture, The Application of Thought to Textual Criticism, 1921

• Silence
• Understanding
• Wisdom

“If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.”

Housman's celebrated description of his physical response to powerful poetry · Lecture, The Name and Nature of Poetry, 1933

• Body
• Memory
• Poetry

“There is no rivalry between the studies of Arts and Laws and Science but the rivalry of fellow soldiers in striving which can most victoriously achieve the common end of all.”

Portraying different disciplines as allies in humanity's search for knowledge · Introductory Lecture, University College London, 1892

• Community
• Education
• Knowledge