--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts." description: "\"A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png" --- # A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts. ![“A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png) > “A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that a person embodies the totality of knowledge, implying that individual experience and memory constitute a living encyclopedia of facts. **In simple terms:** A person is a living collection of knowledge. Key Takeaway Value personal experience as a knowledge source. Themes knowledge experience individuality Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - memory - storytelling Key Concepts Epistemology humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify your own knowledge? - What role does external sources play in your understanding? A Different Perspective It may overstate the reliability of personal memory versus external verification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encyclopedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia/) [Encyclopedia Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia-facts-3813219/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Man Encyclopedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-encyclopedia-586720/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts. The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn, and Egypt, Greece, Rome, Gaul, Britain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts-the-creation-of-a-thousand/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Therefore we value the poet. All the argument and all the wisdom is not in the encyclopedia, or the treatise on metaphysics, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/therefore-we-value-the-poet-all-the-argument-and-all-the-wisdom-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People ask me all the time what or who my influences are. To be honest, it would take a decent set of encyclopedias to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-ask-me-all-the-time-what-or-who-my-influences-are-to-be-honest/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I grew up in the 'hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers, but I also grew up juxtaposed: On the doorknob outside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-grew-up-in-the-hood-around-prostitutes-drug-dealers-killers-and/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [When I was growing up, you couldn't even find 'martial arts' in the encyclopedia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dux/when-i-was-growing-up-you-couldn-t-even-find-martial-arts-in-the/) [Frank Dux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dux/) > [When I have my students do erasures, I'm always amazed by the way their voice comes through, whether they're doing an erasure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-have-my-students-do-erasures-i-m-always-amazed-by-the-way/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [A library is many things. It's a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to go if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-library-is-many-things-it-s-a-place-to-go-to-get-in-out-of-the-rain/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [The unknown was my compass. The unknown was my encyclopedia. The unnamed was my science and progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-unknown-was-my-compass-the-unknown-was-my-encyclopedia-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [If Christianity cannot present evidence that the soul is immortal, then they have nothing to offer the masses, eternity in heaven with God or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/if-christianity-cannot-present-evidence-that-the-soul-is-immortal/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [Engineering is not merely knowing and being knowledgeable, like a walking encyclopedia; engineering is not merely analysis; engineering is not merely the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/engineering-is-not-merely-knowing-and-being-knowledgeable-like-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Encyclopedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. 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Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [My dad sold encyclopedias and my mom worked in a factory office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/my-dad-sold-encyclopedias-and-my-mom-worked-in-a-factory-office/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [“But that woman is an encyclopedia! Of all vices, ancient and modern, and terribly interesting to leaf through! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/but-that-woman-is-an-encyclopedia-of-all-vices-ancient-and-modern-and/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Encyclopedia quotes > [“But that woman is an encyclopedia! Of all vices, ancient and modern, and terribly interesting to leaf through! ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-lorrain/but-that-woman-is-an-encyclopedia-of-all-vices-ancient-and-modern-and/) [Jean Lorrain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-lorrain/) > [My dad sold encyclopedias and my mom worked in a factory office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/my-dad-sold-encyclopedias-and-my-mom-worked-in-a-factory-office/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [ \[The Library of Congress\] is a multimedia encyclopedia. These are the tentacles of a nation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-library-of-congress-is-a-multimedia-encyclopedia-these-are-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [“Tony Cox, still a painter and not yet married to Yoko Ono, pioneered in the use of mescaline for draft-evasion. 400 milligrams taken before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-stafford/tony-cox-still-a-painter-and-not-yet-married-to-yoko-ono-pioneered-in/) [Peter Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-stafford/) > [The Encyclopedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. The marketing division of the Sirius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-encyclopedia-galactica-defines-a-robot-as-a-mechanical-apparatus/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Engineering is not merely knowing and being knowledgeable, like a walking encyclopedia; engineering is not merely analysis; engineering is not merely the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/engineering-is-not-merely-knowing-and-being-knowledgeable-like-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If Christianity cannot present evidence that the soul is immortal, then they have nothing to offer the masses, eternity in heaven with God or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/if-christianity-cannot-present-evidence-that-the-soul-is-immortal/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [The unknown was my compass. The unknown was my encyclopedia. The unnamed was my science and progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-unknown-was-my-compass-the-unknown-was-my-encyclopedia-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [A library is many things. It's a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to go if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/a-library-is-many-things-it-s-a-place-to-go-to-get-in-out-of-the-rain/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [When I have my students do erasures, I'm always amazed by the way their voice comes through, whether they're doing an erasure of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-have-my-students-do-erasures-i-m-always-amazed-by-the-way/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [When I was growing up, you couldn't even find 'martial arts' in the encyclopedia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-dux/when-i-was-growing-up-you-couldn-t-even-find-martial-arts-in-the/) [Frank Dux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-dux/) > [I grew up in the 'hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers, but I also grew up juxtaposed: On the doorknob outside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-grew-up-in-the-hood-around-prostitutes-drug-dealers-killers-and/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [People ask me all the time what or who my influences are. To be honest, it would take a decent set of encyclopedias to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-ask-me-all-the-time-what-or-who-my-influences-are-to-be-honest/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I really love rap music. I grew up in the '80s and '90s with Public Enemy, N.W.A., LL Cool J - I'm a hip-hop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-really-love-rap-music-i-grew-up-in-the-80s-and-90s-with-public/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [There's no encyclopedia or book about parenthood. You learn on the fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/there-s-no-encyclopedia-or-book-about-parenthood-you-learn-on-the-fly/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) [Browse all 143 Encyclopedia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Encyclopedia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a69/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_encyclopedia_a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts_433073.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man is the whole encyclopedia of facts.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man is the whole encyclopedia...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-whole-encyclopedia-of-facts/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```