To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Burke compares reading without reflection to eating without digestion, implying shallow consumption.
- In plain terms
- Reading without thinking is useless.
- What can you take from it?
- Reflect on what you read to truly benefit.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is superficial reading acceptable?
- How can one balance speed and depth?
Another view
Some reading (e.g., for pleasure) may not require deep analysis.
More from Edmund Burke
Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.
Permalink to quote #161 What ever disunites man from God, also disunites man from man.
Permalink to quote #163 No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
Permalink to quote #160
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