To put away one's own original thoughts in order to take up a book is a sin against the Holy Ghost.
Interpretation
Valuing original thought is essential; relying solely on others' ideas can hinder oneβs personal growth.
Barbara Tuchman's quote emphasizes the importance of developing and nurturing one's own original ideas and thoughts. She argues that immersing oneself in the works of others, to the detriment of personal reflection and creativity, represents a failure to engage with one's own intellect and potential, which she metaphorically describes as a sin against the Holy Ghost.
In practice
In a lecture emphasizing the importance of critical thinking, this quote can inspire students to formulate their own opinions.
In a country where misery and want were the foundation of the social structure, famine was periodic, death from starvation common, disease pervasive, thievery normal, and graft and corruption taken for granted, the elimination of these conditions in Communist China is so striking that negative aspects of the new rule fade in relative importance.
When every autumn people said it could not last through the winter, and when every spring there was still no end in sight, only the hope that out of it all some good would accrue to mankind kept men and nations fighting. When at last it was over, the war had many diverse results and one dominant one transcending all others: disillusion.
One constant among the elements of 1914βas of any eraβwas the disposition of everyone on all sides not to prepare for the harder alternative, not to act upon what they suspected to be true.
Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence. It is no fun to write lumpishly, dully, in prose the reader must plod through like wet sand. But it is a pleasure to achieve, if one can, a clear running prose that is simple yet full of surprises. This does not just happen. It requires skill, hard work, a good ear, and continued practice.
The unrecorded past is none other than our old friend, the tree in the primeval forest which fell without being heard
Theology being the work of males, original sin was traced to the female.
Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise.
Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable.
Books are like mirrors: if a fool looks in, you cannot expect a genius to look out.
If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.
One's self-satisfaction is an untaxed kind of property which it is very unpleasant to find deprecated.
Maturity is the slowness in which a man believes.
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