--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first class of readers may be…" description: "\"The first class of readers may be compared to an hour-glass, their reading being as the sand; it runs in and runs out, and leaves not a vestige behind...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_bags_the-first-class-of-readers-may-be-compar_2748468.jpg" --- # The first class of readers may be compared to an… ![“The first class of readers may be compared to an hour-glass, their reading being as the sand; it runs in and runs out, and leaves not a vestige behind. A second class resembles a sponge, which imbibes everything, and returns it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtier. A third class is like…” quote by Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_bags_the-first-class-of-readers-may-be-compar_2748468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_bags_the-first-class-of-readers-may-be-compar_2748468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_bags_the-first-class-of-readers-may-be-compar_2748468.jpg) > “The first class of readers may be compared to an hour-glass, their reading being as the sand; it runs in and runs out, and leaves not a vestige behind. A second class resembles a sponge, which imbibes everything, and returns it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtier. A third class is like a jelly-bag, which allows all that is pure to pass away, and retains only the refuse and dregs. The fourth class may be compared to the slave of Golconda, who, casting aside all that is worthless, preserves only the pure gems.” [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers differ in how they retain knowledge: some forget, some absorb and repeat, some filter out purity, and some keep only valuable insights. **In simple terms:** Different readers retain or discard information differently. Key Takeaway Identify your reading style and refine it. Themes learning memory critical thinking Mood contemplative analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - personal development - teaching - reading clubs - literary analysis Key Concepts cognitive retention information processing Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure you keep the “pure gems” of what you read? - What habits help you filter out the “refuse”? A Different Perspective Even the best readers may miss deeper meanings without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [First class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-class/) [Gems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gems/) [Hour glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour-glasses/) [Passing away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-away/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [For the duration of its collective life, or the time during which its identity may be assumed, each class resembles a hotel or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-schumpeter/for-the-duration-of-its-collective-life-or-the-time-during-which-its/) [Joseph A. Schumpeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-a-schumpeter/) > [the wrongs of society can be more deeply impressed on a large class of readers in the form of fiction than by essays, sermons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-wrongs-of-society-can-be-more-deeply-impressed-on-a-large-class/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Few faults of style, whether real or imaginary, excite the malignity of a more numerous class of readers, than the use of hard words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/few-faults-of-style-whether-real-or-imaginary-excite-the-malignity-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is almost as difficult to keep a first class person in a fourth class job, as it is to keep a fourth class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/it-is-almost-as-difficult-to-keep-a-first-class-person-in-a-fourth/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Of the cosmic Gods some make the world be, others animate it, others harmonize it, consisting as it does of different elements; the fourth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallust/of-the-cosmic-gods-some-make-the-world-be-others-animate-it-others/) [Sallust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallust/) > [It's a good thing to turn your mind upside down now and then, like an hour-glass, to let the particles run the other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/it-s-a-good-thing-to-turn-your-mind-upside-down-now-and-then-like-an/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [You possess a non-renewable resource, which is headed toward total depletion and that resource is time. You can either invest your life or let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/you-possess-a-non-renewable-resource-which-is-headed-toward-total/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Perhaps life is like an hour glass, with dear ones the sand that slips from the upper glass--the earth--into the second--eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/perhaps-life-is-like-an-hour-glass-with-dear-ones-the-sand-that-slips/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > [If I'm not at my desk by 4 AM, I feel like I'm missing my most productive hours. In addition to starting early, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/if-i-m-not-at-my-desk-by-4-am-i-feel-like-i-m-missing-my-most/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [How absolute and omnipotent is the silence of night! And yet the stillness seems almost audible! From all the measureless depths of air around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/how-absolute-and-omnipotent-is-the-silence-of-night-and-yet-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [And what is Life? - An hour-glass on the run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/and-what-is-life-an-hour-glass-on-the-run/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-gabriel-rossetti/tis-visible-silence-still-as-the-hour-glass/) [Dante Gabriel Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-gabriel-rossetti/) > [Time, like a preacher in the days of the Puritans, turned the hour-glass on his high pulpit, the church belfry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/time-like-a-preacher-in-the-days-of-the-puritans-turned-the-hour/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [After claws and feathers, he took skin and bone, shaped it like an hour glass and made the angels moan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/after-claws-and-feathers-he-took-skin-and-bone-shaped-it-like-an-hour/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [An hour-glass is a reminder not only of time's quick flight, but also of the dust to which we must at last return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/an-hour-glass-is-a-reminder-not-only-of-time-s-quick-flight-but-also/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) ## More by Samuel Taylor Coleridge > [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Facts are not truths; they are not conclusions; they are not even premises, but in the nature and parts of premises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/facts-are-not-truths-they-are-not-conclusions-they-are-not-even/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I do not wish you to act from these truths; no, still and always act from your feelings; only meditate often on these truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-do-not-wish-you-to-act-from-these-truths-no-still-and-always-act/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [With no other privilege than that of sympathy and sincere good wishes, I would address an affectionate exhortation to the youthful literati, grounded on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/with-no-other-privilege-than-that-of-sympathy-and-sincere-good-wishes/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Ignorance seldom vaults into knowledge...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/ignorance-seldom-vaults-into-knowledge/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, Whether the summer clothe the general earth With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing Betwixt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/therefore-all-seasons-shall-be-sweet-to-thee-whether-the-summer/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Why are not more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books are not in everybody's reach; and though it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-are-not-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Life went a-maying With Nature, Hope, and Poesy, When I was young!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/life-went-a-maying-with-nature-hope-and-poesy-when-i-was-young/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [No voice; but oh - the silence sank Like music on my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/no-voice-but-oh-the-silence-sank-like-music-on-my-heart/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The three great ends which a statesman ought to propose to himself in the government of a nation, are 1. Security to possessors; 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-three-great-ends-which-a-statesman-ought-to-propose-to-himself-in/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“We in ourselves rejoice! And thence flows all that charms or ear or sight, All melodies the echoes of that voice, All colours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/we-in-ourselves-rejoice-and-thence-flows-all-that-charms-or-ear-or/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) [Explore all 570 Samuel Taylor Coleridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) ## More Bags quotes > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I love Christopher Bailey and Burberry, Mulberry for bags, and Hudson for jeans. I like a little bit of designer with a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-delevingne/i-love-christopher-bailey-and-burberry-mulberry-for-bags-and-hudson/) [Cara Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-delevingne/) > ['Constitutional' is just a real pip of a word. Positively rolls off the tongue. In fact, it's downright fun to say. 'Con-stit-too-shun-al.' It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/constitutional-is-just-a-real-pip-of-a-word-positively-rolls-off-the/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I don't really buy expensive clothes. I love good bags!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-siriano/i-don-t-really-buy-expensive-clothes-i-love-good-bags/) [Christian Siriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-siriano/) > [I have a dress fitting to get to at three.' (Simon) 'Cool,' said Kyle, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder and heading for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-have-a-dress-fitting-to-get-to-at-three-simon-cool-said-kyle/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Never bet with anyone you meet on the first tee who has a deep suntan, a 1-iron in his bag, and squinty eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-marr/never-bet-with-anyone-you-meet-on-the-first-tee-who-has-a-deep-suntan/) Dave Marr > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Politics is not bean bags. It's serious, tough stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/politics-is-not-bean-bags-it-s-serious-tough-stuff/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [I like bags that are easy to wear and are pretty to look at. But I don't like them when they have no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dellal/i-like-bags-that-are-easy-to-wear-and-are-pretty-to-look-at-but-i-don/) [Alice Dellal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dellal/) > [I drive a Prius. I always turn my faucets off. I never use plastic bottles anymore. I use glass bottles. I bring my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-d-orsay/i-drive-a-prius-i-always-turn-my-faucets-off-i-never-use-plastic/) Brooke D'Orsay > [Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/then-there-are-some-minor-points-that-strike-me-as-suggestive-for/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [It was a mind-blowing experience, it really was-absolutely an awesome thing. . . . As I got to the top I released a bag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-a-mind-blowing-experience-it-really-was-absolutely-an-awesome/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know the best thing about aeroplanes? Apart from the peanuts in little silver bags, I mean. It's looking out of the windows at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-know-the-best-thing-about-aeroplanes-apart-from-the-peanuts-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'm not the Hollywood type. I'm not going to pack up my bags and let me move to Hollywood and stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-henry/i-m-not-the-hollywood-type-i-m-not-going-to-pack-up-my-bags-and-let/) [Dwight Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-henry/) > [Everyone knows I drink a lot of Diet Coke, so...I drink chocolate milk after races as my recovery drink, and you won't ever find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/everyone-knows-i-drink-a-lot-of-diet-coke-so-i-drink-chocolate-milk/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) Browse all 1,147 Bags quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first class of readers may be compared to an hour-glass, their reading being as the sand; it runs in and runs out, and leaves not a vestige behind. A second class resembles a sponge, which imbibes everything, and returns it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtier. 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