There is a knowledge which is desirable, though nothing come of it, as being of itself a treasure, and a sufficient remuneration of years of labor.

Newman distinguishes between instrumental knowledge (valued for what it produces) and knowledge valued intrinsically. The sentence argues that some learning is worth pursuing even if it yields no practical payoff, because understanding itself is a “treasure” that repays the effort of study. In Newman’s wider educational thought, this supports a liberal education: the mind is formed by disciplined inquiry, and truth has a dignity independent of utility. The line also implies a moral stance toward intellectual labor—patience, humility, and devotion to truth—suggesting that the deepest rewards of scholarship are internal (clarity, breadth, wisdom) rather than external (profit, status, immediate results).