Quote by Henry David Thoreau
Some old poet's grand imagination is imposed on us as adamantine everlasting truth, and God's own word! Pythagoras says, truly enough, A true assertion respecting God, is an assertion of God; but we may well doubt if there is any example of this in literature.
Summary
In this quote, the speaker is questioning the unquestioned authority of old poets and their imaginative writings being portrayed as absolute truth and the word of God. The reference to Pythagoras suggests that a genuine statement about God should be rooted in an actual understanding of divinity. However, the speaker doubts whether any such example can be found in literature, highlighting skepticism towards blindly accepting poetic imagination as indisputable truth. The quote invites critical thinking about the authenticity and validity of religious texts and the influence of poetic interpretations.