I might have said “but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd can remember with sweetness the independence of solitude.” It is our memory of the independence and not the dogmatic preachings of our independence which guide a great man through the crowd.

The quote could be read as disavowing the influence of others. Funnily enough, this interpretation hadn’t really occured to me before you commented. (See below for my interpretation.)

Certainly, the essay on “Self-reliance” from which the quote comes veers too far toward isolated individualism for my taste. I’ve only read a few of Emerson’s essays, so I’m not sure if this individualism is a general feature of his thought, or simply a manifestation of the topic of the essay (self-reliance).

I prefer to read the quote in a slightly different way, though.

I believe that many people (myself certainly included) find it difficult to retain a focus on what is important, amidst other distractions. This is not so hard when one is isolated; indeed, I often isolate myself to finish large projects for this reason. But in contact with others it can be quite tough.

I use the quote as a reminder that the ideal is to be able to keep what is important firmly in mind, while still (hopefully!) being open to learn from others, and change our conception of what is important.

This is not inconsistent with learning from others or sharing your opinions. In fact, you probably have to do both to refine your understanding of what your duty is.