I don't study to know more, but to ignore less. — Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · Smartyfair

I don't study to know more, but to ignore less.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz1651–1695 · poet · 1600s MexicoSor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a nun, poet, and scholar in colonial Mexico who became one of the greatest writers of her time, despite living in an era when women were rarely allowed to study or publish.1 quote

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In plain words

She learned things to shrink the pile of what she did not know.

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 60% sureLots of sources credit Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz with this, and they agree with each other. The book or the speech it first came from hasn't turned up yet.
What turned up: Respuesta a sor Filotea (1691), her own sentence: 'Lo que sólo he deseado es estudiar para ignorar menos'. The English here expands it with an antithesis absent from the original — a paraphrase, not a translation
Sources checked: she-philosopher.comChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 20 August 2026confirms Respuesta (1691) context and names Margaret Sayers Peden's 1982 translation, though this exact line's text wasn't retrievable there
es.wikisource.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 21 August 2026Full Spanish primary text on Wikisource; contains 'Lo que sólo he deseado es estudiar para ignorar menos' verbatim

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More on learning

We live in a beautiful and wonderful world, and the more you know about it the wiser and the better you will be.

Louisa May Alcott Nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries.

Charles Darwin We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire.

Maria Mitchell Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.

Plato A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.Chinese proverb The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

More history

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

Confucius Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Lao Tzu In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

Sun Tzu The wound is the place where the light enters you.

Rumi You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Marcus Aurelius Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

Marcus Aurelius