In between paragraphs 4-11 of the “The American Scholar” by Ralph Waldo Emerson's academic oration, he asserts scholars should avoid being over-influenced by past scholars and advises to watch what kind of knowledge you feed your brain (August 31, 1837). Then, Emerson begins supporting his thesis by implementing the terms such as “bookworm” and “active soul”. As a result, he describes bookworm as someone who does not question what he reads, and an active soul as someone who utters all truth. In order to prevent being a bookworm, you must have an active soul. In turn, we receive only healthy knowledge. Conclusively, Emerson's purpose of this portion of the oration is to try to make sure scholars keep their own ideas and perspective, in order
