The Perils of Unbalanced Knowledge

I then thought that my father would be unjust if he ascribed my neglect to vice,

or faultiness on my part; but I am now convinced that he was justified in conceiving that

I should not be altogether free from blame. A human being in perfection ought

always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind, and never to allow passion or a transitory

desire to disturb his tranquillity. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an exception

to this rule. If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections,

and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix,

then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind.