--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He felt disgruntled and obscurely let…" description: "\"“He felt disgruntled and obscurely let down at having paid good money to discover that the vision that had so irradiated his consciousness was a second..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/robert-silverberg-14952_memory_he-felt-disgruntled-and-obscurely-let-do_898225.jpg" --- # He felt disgruntled and obscurely let down at having paid… ![“He felt disgruntled and obscurely let down at having paid good money to discover that the vision that had so irradiated his consciousness was a second-hand one. On the other hand, he told himself, probably it was better to hear that a phantom memory had come floating up out of some lecture of his…” quote by Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/robert-silverberg-14952_memory_he-felt-disgruntled-and-obscurely-let-do_898225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/robert-silverberg-14952_memory_he-felt-disgruntled-and-obscurely-let-do_898225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/robert-silverberg-14952_memory_he-felt-disgruntled-and-obscurely-let-do_898225.jpg) > ““He felt disgruntled and obscurely let down at having paid good money to discover that the vision that had so irradiated his consciousness was a second-hand one. On the other hand, he told himself, probably it was better to hear that a phantom memory had come floating up out of some lecture of his student days than to be informed that he was going out of his mind.”” [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He is disappointed to realize his profound insight is merely a borrowed idea, yet prefers this to believing he is losing his sanity. **In simple terms:** Disappointment over borrowed ideas versus fear of madness. Key Takeaway Accept that ideas can be shared; seek original insight. Themes disappointment intellectual honesty identity illusion self‑doubt Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical psychological When to use this quote - academic research - creative writing - personal crisis - learning new concepts Key Concepts plagiarism memory consciousness psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between inspiration and imitation? - What safeguards help maintain mental clarity when ideas feel foreign? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate the rarity of original thought, ignoring collaborative nature of knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-second-1214911/) [Felt Disgruntled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-disgruntled-1214908/) [Irradiated Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irradiated-consciousness-1214907/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Phantom Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantom-memory-1214910/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Vision Irradiated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision-irradiated-1214909/) ## Related quotes > [We're all nothing but unified arrangements of atoms and particles, drifting around, enjoying consciousness every now and then for a second or so before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dean-foster/we-re-all-nothing-but-unified-arrangements-of-atoms-and-particles/) [Alan Dean Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dean-foster/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Robert Silverberg > [One defining symptom of decadence is a fondness for vast and nonsensical extravagance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/one-defining-symptom-of-decadence-is-a-fondness-for-vast-and/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Never pass by a chance to shut up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/never-pass-by-a-chance-to-shut-up/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“I'm not ready to fuck an empress just yet”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/i-m-not-ready-to-fuck-an-empress-just-yet/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Three Rules for Literary Success: 1. Read a lot. 2. Write a lot. 3. Read a lot more, write a lot more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/three-rules-for-literary-success-1-read-a-lot-2-write-a-lot-3-read-a/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Utopias are boring. Distopias on the other hand, are interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/utopias-are-boring-distopias-on-the-other-hand-are-interesting/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“History could be as arbitrary as poetry, he told himself: what is history, other than a matter of choice, the picking and choosing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/history-could-be-as-arbitrary-as-poetry-he-told-himself-what-is/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“It’s because I hate to think that anything goes to waste. I mean, that anything that was ever important or valuable or precious to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-s-because-i-hate-to-think-that-anything-goes-to-waste-i-mean-that/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“Death was the only question that contained its own answer, and when you asked the question and had the answer you were gone, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/death-was-the-only-question-that-contained-its-own-answer-and-when/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Men of great spirit are at high risk at a time when small souls rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/men-of-great-spirit-are-at-high-risk-at-a-time-when-small-souls-rule/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“I'm an urban New Yorker to the last molecule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/i-m-an-urban-new-yorker-to-the-last-molecule/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“He met me at the airport; it was ten in the morning, Washington time, when I arrived, after having taken a plane that left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/he-met-me-at-the-airport-it-was-ten-in-the-morning-washington-time/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“I tried to be good to Judith, I tried to be kind and loving, but our hatred kept coming between us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/i-tried-to-be-good-to-judith-i-tried-to-be-kind-and-loving-but-our/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“As youngest boy in service, the worst jobs fell to him, and this would”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/as-youngest-boy-in-service-the-worst-jobs-fell-to-him-and-this-would/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [I find the world and all it contains extremely fascinating. Is this sinful?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/i-find-the-world-and-all-it-contains-extremely-fascinating-is-this/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) [Explore all 44 Robert Silverberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He felt disgruntled and obscurely let down at having paid good money to discover that the vision that had so irradiated his consciousness was a second-hand one. 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