Scientia potentia est that with knowledge or education, one's potential or abilities in life will certainly increase. Having and sharing knowledge is widely recognized as the basis for improving one's reputation and influence, thus power. This phrase may also be used as a justification for a reluctance to share information when a person believes that withholding knowledge can deliver to that person some forms of advantage. Another interpretation is that the only true power is knowledge, as everything (including any achievement) is derived from it. Terry Brooks. "First King of Shannara" Ballantine. C. 1996 Scientia potentia est The phrase "scientia potentia est"" (or
Scientia potentia est Hebrew, in the Biblical Book of Proverbs (24:5): גֶּבֶר-חָכָם בַּעוֹז; וְאִישׁ-דַּעַת, מְאַמֶּץ-כֹּחַ. This was translated in the latin Vulgata as ""vir sapiens et fortis est et vir doctus robustus et validus"" and in the King James Version, the first English official edition, as "A wise man is strong, a man of knowledge increaseth strength". The first known reference of the exact phrase appeared in the Latin edition of "Leviathan" (1668; the English version had been published in 1651). This passage from Part 1 ("De Homine"), Chapter X ("De Potentia, Dignitate et Honore") occurs in a list of various attributes of