This quote implies that no work, no matter how high its quality or profound its content, can truly educate or enlighten a person through a mere quick or superficial reading. It suggests that true understanding and learning require time, effort, and deep engagement with the material. A cursory perusal, or a quick, superficial reading, is simply not enough to extract the full value and wisdom from a piece of work. It’s like skimming the surface of a lake and expecting to understand its depth and what lies beneath.
In the context of today’s fast-paced, information-saturated world, this quote serves as a reminder of the importance of deep, deliberate learning as opposed to quick, superficial consumption of information. In an age where we are constantly bombarded with news, social media updates, articles, and other forms of content, it’s easy to fall into the trap of cursory perusal. We might feel like we’re learning a lot because we’re consuming a lot of information, but without taking the time to deeply engage with and reflect on this information, our understanding remains superficial.
In terms of personal development, the idea expressed in this quote can be applied to the way we approach learning and self-improvement. Instead of trying to learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time, we should focus on truly understanding and internalizing a smaller amount of information. This might mean reading fewer books but spending more time on each one, or learning fewer skills but practicing each one until we’ve mastered it. It’s about quality over quantity, depth over breadth. This approach to learning and personal development is likely to yield more meaningful and lasting results.
