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A scholar is like a book written in a dead language. It is not every one that can read in it.
William Hazlitt
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the idea that deep knowledge can be difficult for most to understand and appreciate.

William Hazlitt's quote compares a scholar to a book written in a dead language, suggesting that while scholars possess valuable knowledge, it is often inaccessible or comprehensible only to a select few. Just as a dead language may not be understood by the masses, the insights and wisdom of scholars may go unrecognized or misinterpreted by those who lack the necessary background or context to appreciate them.

Themes

ScholarKnowledgeEducationUnderstandingWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a graduation speech, one might say this quote to emphasize the importance of deep learning.

More from William Hazlitt

Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
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The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
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Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
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We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
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There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
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Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
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