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Everything in nature tells a different story to all eyes that see and to all ears that hear. So, when we look upon a flower, a painting, a statue, a star, or a violet, the more we know, the more we have experienced, the more we have thought, the more we remember, the more the statue, the star, the painting, the violet has to tell. Nature says to me all that I am capable of understanding - gives all that I can receive. As with star, or flower, or sea, so with a book. A thoughtful man reads Shakespeare. What does he get? All that he has the mind to understand. Let another read him, who knows nothing of the drama, nothing of the impersonations of passion, and what does he get? Almost nothing. Shakespeare has a different story for each reader. He is a world in which each recognizes his acquaintances.

Robert G. Ingersoll#107

KnowledgePerceptionBooksLearningExperience

About this quote

What does it mean?
People perceive things differently based on their knowledge and experience. A text or object reveals more to someone who knows more about it.
In plain terms
The more you know the more you get from books and nature.
What can you take from it?
Learn more to understand more.

Where it applies

  • reading literature
  • visiting art
  • studying nature

Putting it to work

  • Read widely
  • Study to deepen understanding

Questions to consider

  • What do you miss without experience?
  • How do you learn?

Another view

Experience alone does not guarantee insight.

More from Robert G. Ingersoll

  1. Every man should be mentally honest. He should preserve as his most precious jewel the perfect veracity of his soul. He should examine all questions presented …

    Permalink to quote #106
  2. Facts need no pedigree; logic has no heraldry, and the living should not be awed by the mistakes of the dead.

    Permalink to quote #108
  3. Every man is dishonest who lives upon the labor of others, no matter if he occupies a throne.

    Permalink to quote #105

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