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Cultivation Quotes

On tending what we choose to grow.

These quotes stretch the word cultivation across farming, personal growth, sport, and even willful ignorance, showing how the same idea of patient effort applies to very different pursuits. It's a theme also touched on in our Apparat quotes collection.

Chinese learning is an internal learning, but Western learning is an external one; Chinese learning is for the cultivation of oneself, just as Western learning is for the handling of worldly affairs.

Quotes by Zhang Zhidong

Stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance.

Quotes by William Gaddis

I started paddy cultivation not for profit.

Quotes by Sreenivasan

Sport is the habitual and voluntary cultivation of intensive physical effort.

Quotes by Pierre de Coubertin

Frequently Asked Questions

Do these quotes only refer to farming?
No — cultivation here covers everything from paddy farming to self-improvement and even physical training, showing the word's broad reach.
Can cultivation apply to negative traits too?
Yes, one quote pointedly describes stupidity as the deliberate cultivation of ignorance, using the idea ironically.
How is cultivation linked to sport in these quotes?
One quote describes sport as the habitual cultivation of intense physical effort, treating training like tending a long-term practice.
What's the difference between Eastern and Western views mentioned here?
One quote contrasts self-cultivation as an internal practice with learning aimed at handling worldly affairs, a distinction drawn from classical Chinese thought.
How can cultivation quotes be used?
They fit well in writing about discipline, personal growth, or agriculture. See also Bleeds quotes.

Whether applied to rice paddies or self-discipline, cultivation quotes remind us that growth rarely happens by accident. Browse more on effort and craft in our Tracy Anderson quotes and Lisi Harrison quotes.