The worst readers are those who behave like plundering troops: they take away a few things they can use, dirty and confound the remainder, and revile the whole.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Bad readers loot texts, taking useful bits while contaminating the rest and condemning the whole work.
- In plain terms
- Poor readers pick bits and trash the whole.
- What can you take from it?
- Read holistically, not selectively.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes a reader 'good'?
- How can we balance depth with efficiency?
Another view
Some selective reading can be a practical necessity.
More from Friedrich Nietzsche
Many a man fails to become a thinker only because his memory is too good.
Permalink to quote #47 A witticism is an epigram on the death of a feeling.
Permalink to quote #49 The mother of excess is not joy but joylessness.
Permalink to quote #46
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