“Much of the vagueness of the human mind is due to the fact that the mind is largely composed of material derived second-hand from books. The ideas are not read.”

"Human Nature is Defective", speech to the Young People's Socialist League, The Chicago Tribune, 20 Oct. 1910

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J. Howard Moore 183
1862–1916

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“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.”

John Locke (1632–1704) English philosopher and physician

As quoted in "Hand Book : Caution and Counsels" in The Common School Journal Vol. 5, No. 24 (15 December 1843) by Horace Mann, p. 371
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