But the saddest difference between them was that Zazetsky, as Luria said, 'fought to regain his lost faculties with the indomitable tenacity of the damned, ' whereas Dr P. was not fighting, did not know what was lost. But who was more tragic, or who was more damned -- the man who knew it, or the man who did not? Oliver Sacks
About This Quote

The quote, "But the saddest difference between them was that Zazetsky, as Luria said, 'fought to regain his lost faculties with the indomitable tenacity of the damned,' whereas Dr P. was not fighting, did not know what was lost. But who was more tragic, or who was more damned -- the man who knew it, or the man who did not?" comes from a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer called The Doctor's Garden. In the story, a doctor searches for his lost memories and finds himself in a similar position to Dr P.

in that he also has no idea what he has lost. There is a very interesting twist that occurs at the end of the story where we find out that the doctor has no memory loss and it is actually Dr P. whose memory is gone and who needs to find himself again.

Source: The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales

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