Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson
I suppose every old scholar has had the experience of reading something in a book which was significant to him, but which he could never find again. Sure he is that he read it there, but no one else ever read it, nor can he find it again, though he buy the book and ransack every page.
Summary
This quote expresses the frustration of a scholar who has encountered a piece of information or insight in a book that profoundly impacted them, but is unable to locate it again despite their best efforts. They remember reading it and believe its significance is valid, yet they feel isolated in this experience, as no one else seems to have come across it. Even after purchasing the book and thoroughly searching through its pages, the desired passage remains elusive. This quote captures the peculiar experience of intellectual resonance fleeting in its re-accessibility, highlighting the subjective nature of knowledge and the limitations of retrieval.