Amīr al-mu’minīn's wisdom on knowledge and virtue
Nahj al-Balāgha|Volume 1|Book 3|Chapter 147
أَلَا لَا ذَا وَلَا ذَاكَ أَوْ مَنْهُوماً بِاللَّذَّةِ سَلِسَ الْقِيَادِ لِلشَّهْوَةِ أَوْ مُغْرَماً بِالْجَمْعِ وَالِادِّخَارِ لَيْسَا مِنْ رُعَاةِ الدِّينِ فِى شَيْءٍ أَقْرَبُ شَيْءٍ شَبَهاً بِهِمَا الْأَنْعَامُ السَّائِمَةُ كَذَلِكَ يَمُوتُ الْعِلْمُ بِمَوْتِ حَامِلِيهِ.
So, neither this nor that was good enough. Either the man is eager for pleasures, easily led away by passions, or is covetous for collecting and hoarding wealth. Neither of them has any regard for religion in any matter. The nearest example of these is the loose cattle. This is the way that knowledge dies away with the death of its bearers.