From i six nonlectures (1953):
Let me cordially warn you, at the opening of these socalled lectures, that I haven’t the remotest intention of posing as a lecturer. Lecturing is presumably a form of teaching; and presumably a teacher is somebody who knows. I never did, and still don’t, know. What has always fascinated me is not teaching, but learning; and I assure you that if the acceptance of a Charles Eliot Norton professorship hadn’t rapidly entangled itself with the expectation of learning a very great deal, I should now be somewhere else. Let me also assure you that I feel extremely glad to be here; and that I heartily hope you won’t feel extremely sorry.
Thanks for this. I last read the nonlectures about three or four years ago, and my recollection is that there was at least one truly remarkable passage on every page. My actual grasp is fuzzy, I need to go back in…
What I love about my paperback copy of that book is how small it is. I can take it anywhere, even in the pocket of my baggy shorts in the summertime, reading it a page or two at a time.
Seems like this quote belongs at the top of the Syllabus!