“ Genius is always sufficiently the enemy of genius by over-influence. ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar (1838). copy citation
| Author | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
|---|---|
| Source | The American Scholar |
| Topic | genius influence |
| Date | 1838 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_American_Scholar |
Context
“On the other part, instead of being its own seer, let it receive always from another mind its truth, though it were in torrents of light, without periods of solitude, inquest, and self-recovery, and a fatal disservice is done. Genius is always sufficiently the enemy of genius by over-influence. The literature of every nation bear me witness. The English dramatic poets have Shakspearized now for two hundred years. Undoubtedly there is a right way of readingIt is remarkable, the character of the pleasure we derive from the best books.”
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