--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Although I admired scholarship so much in…" description: "\"“Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should never be a scholar. I could never lose myself ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png" --- # Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was… ![“Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should never be a scholar. I could never lose myself for long among impersonal things. Mental excitement was apt to send me with a rush back to my own naked land and the figures scattered upon it…” quote by Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png) > ““Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should never be a scholar. I could never lose myself for long among impersonal things. Mental excitement was apt to send me with a rush back to my own naked land and the figures scattered upon it. While I was in the very act of yearning toward the new forms that Cleric brought up before me, my mind plunged away from me, and I suddenly found myself thinking of the places and people of my own infinitesimal past.”” [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rejects scholarly life, preferring personal roots and memories over abstract pursuits. **In simple terms:** He chose personal roots over scholarship. Key Takeaway Value personal identity and lived experience over abstract knowledge. Themes identity scholarship nostalgia Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - creative writing - family heritage - mental health Key Concepts personal history intellectual freedom self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do personal memories shape identity? - When is scholarly pursuit valuable? A Different Perspective May limit intellectual growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admired Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admired-scholarship-2550549/) [Cleric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleric/) [Cleric Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleric-brought-2550551/) [Knew Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-scholar-2550552/) [Personal things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-things/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Scholarship Cleric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship-cleric-2550550/) ## Related quotes > [A cleric who loses his faith abandons his calling; a philosopher who loses his redefines his subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gellner/a-cleric-who-loses-his-faith-abandons-his-calling-a-philosopher-who/) [Ernest Gellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gellner/) > [A physician's physiology has much the same relation to his power of healing as a cleric's divinity has to his power of influencing conduct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-physician-s-physiology-has-much-the-same-relation-to-his-power-of/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It's hard to say who's a greater threat to the world, an ambitious CEO with a big ad budget or a crafty cleric with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/it-s-hard-to-say-who-s-a-greater-threat-to-the-world-an-ambitious-ceo/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Most priests wish they were as righteous as they seem to most members of their congregations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-priests-wish-they-were-as-righteous-as-they-seem-to-most-members/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Ever since he repented of religion and shaved off his clerical beard and mustache, he has had the constant feeling that he has taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/ever-since-he-repented-of-religion-and-shaved-off-his-clerical-beard/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Shun, as you would the plague, a cleric who from being poor has become wealthy, or who, from being nobody has become a celebrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/shun-as-you-would-the-plague-a-cleric-who-from-being-poor-has-become/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Some cleric putting a match to her. /Neither of them looks happy about it. /Once lit, she'll burn like a book, /like a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-cleric-putting-a-match-to-her-neither-of-them-looks-happy-about/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“We look wishfully to emergencies, to eventful, revolutionary times...and think how easy to have taken our part when the drum was rolling and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/we-look-wishfully-to-emergencies-to-eventful-revolutionary-times-and/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is evil; for no one may judge the Pope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-innocent-iii/every-cleric-must-obey-the-pope-even-if-he-commands-what-is-evil-for/) [Pope Innocent III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-innocent-iii/) > [“This particular May morning begins with the appearance of a procession on the corner of Pancake and Rosa Luxemburg Streets. The procession is evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/this-particular-may-morning-begins-with-the-appearance-of-a/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“I can taste fear, and lies, on a man's skin, Cavrax." The Master Priest whispered, watching the large pulse on the cleric's neck beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-n-faust/i-can-taste-fear-and-lies-on-a-man-s-skin-cavrax-the-master-priest/) [C.N. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-n-faust/) > [“...new prejudices will serve as well as old ones to harness the great unthinking masses. For this enlightenment, however, nothing is required but freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/new-prejudices-will-serve-as-well-as-old-ones-to-harness-the-great/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The only reason why I tend to pass on a movie is either I don't think I'm right for the material and can't play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/the-only-reason-why-i-tend-to-pass-on-a-movie-is-either-i-don-t-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [People in this world of superficial communication find themselves isolated and lonely and have difficult in talking about personal things that really matter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/people-in-this-world-of-superficial-communication-find-themselves/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [People do want to know the personal things. How far is too far to go with personal lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hart/people-do-want-to-know-the-personal-things-how-far-is-too-far-to-go/) [Mary Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hart/) ## More by Willa Cather > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Success is less interesting than struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/success-is-less-interesting-than-struggle-there-is-great-pleasure-in/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“I only knew the schoolbooks said he "died in the wilderness, of a broken heart." "More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-knew-the-schoolbooks-said-he-died-in-the-wilderness-of-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/nothing-mattered-but-writing-books-and-living-the-kind-of-life-that/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Money and office and success are the consolations of impotence. Fortune turns kind to such solid people and lets them suck their bone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/money-and-office-and-success-are-the-consolations-of-impotence/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“He placed this book in my grandmother's hands, looked at her entreatingly, and said, with an earnestness which I shall never forget, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/he-placed-this-book-in-my-grandmother-s-hands-looked-at-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The sincerity of feeling that is possible between a writer and a reader is one of the finest things I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-sincerity-of-feeling-that-is-possible-between-a-writer-and-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/our-tree-became-the-talking-tree-of-the-fairy-tale-legends-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Explore all 434 Willa Cather quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## More Cleric quotes > [“...new prejudices will serve as well as old ones to harness the great unthinking masses. For this enlightenment, however, nothing is required but freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/new-prejudices-will-serve-as-well-as-old-ones-to-harness-the-great/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“I can taste fear, and lies, on a man's skin, Cavrax." The Master Priest whispered, watching the large pulse on the cleric's neck beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-n-faust/i-can-taste-fear-and-lies-on-a-man-s-skin-cavrax-the-master-priest/) [C.N. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-n-faust/) > [“This particular May morning begins with the appearance of a procession on the corner of Pancake and Rosa Luxemburg Streets. The procession is evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/this-particular-may-morning-begins-with-the-appearance-of-a/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is evil; for no one may judge the Pope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-innocent-iii/every-cleric-must-obey-the-pope-even-if-he-commands-what-is-evil-for/) [Pope Innocent III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-innocent-iii/) > [“We look wishfully to emergencies, to eventful, revolutionary times...and think how easy to have taken our part when the drum was rolling and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-kynock/we-look-wishfully-to-emergencies-to-eventful-revolutionary-times-and/) [Mitch Kynock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-kynock/) > [Some cleric putting a match to her. /Neither of them looks happy about it. /Once lit, she'll burn like a book, /like a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/some-cleric-putting-a-match-to-her-neither-of-them-looks-happy-about/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Shun, as you would the plague, a cleric who from being poor has become wealthy, or who, from being nobody has become a celebrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/shun-as-you-would-the-plague-a-cleric-who-from-being-poor-has-become/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“Ever since he repented of religion and shaved off his clerical beard and mustache, he has had the constant feeling that he has taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/ever-since-he-repented-of-religion-and-shaved-off-his-clerical-beard/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“Most priests wish they were as righteous as they seem to most members of their congregations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/most-priests-wish-they-were-as-righteous-as-they-seem-to-most-members/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It's hard to say who's a greater threat to the world, an ambitious CEO with a big ad budget or a crafty cleric with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/it-s-hard-to-say-who-s-a-greater-threat-to-the-world-an-ambitious-ceo/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A physician's physiology has much the same relation to his power of healing as a cleric's divinity has to his power of influencing conduct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-physician-s-physiology-has-much-the-same-relation-to-his-power-of/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A cleric who loses his faith abandons his calling; a philosopher who loses his redefines his subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gellner/a-cleric-who-loses-his-faith-abandons-his-calling-a-philosopher-who/) [Ernest Gellner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gellner/) [Browse all 13 Cleric quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleric/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should never be a scholar. I could never lose myself for long among impersonal things. Mental excitement was apt to send me with a rush back to my own naked land and the figures scattered upon it. While I was in the very act of yearning toward the new forms that Cleric brought up before me, my mind plunged away from me, and I suddenly found myself thinking of the places and people of my own infinitesimal past.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willa Cather" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-in-cleric-i-was-not-deceived/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cleric" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-in-cleric-i-was-not-deceived/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/willa-cather-634_cleric_although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-i_2677207.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should…” — Willa Cather", "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": "Willa Cather", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Although I admired scholarship so much...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-in-cleric-i-was-not-deceived/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/although-i-admired-scholarship-so-much-in-cleric-i-was-not-deceived/#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 } } ] } ```