Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.

The maxim urges a balance between breadth and depth in education: cultivate general knowledge across many fields while also pursuing mastery in at least one. In Huxley’s intellectual milieu—Victorian debates over science, education, and professional specialization—the sentiment aligns with an ideal of the well-trained mind: broadly literate enough to connect ideas across domains, yet disciplined enough to contribute original work through focused expertise. The quote is often used to advocate “T-shaped” learning (wide curiosity plus deep competence), warning against both dilettantism (knowing a little about everything) and narrowness (knowing everything about too little).