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It is quite apparent that the society that we live in prefers the grow of a screen to black ink on paper as a way to pass time. Part of the reason being the engrossing nature of modern technology, while the other being the ignorance many have regarding the benefits of reading.
In in his speech; The American Scholar, Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst. What is the right use?…They are for nothing but to inspire. ”
Ralph Waldo Emerson The American Scholar
According to the poet Matthew Arnold books are a source of what he called;
“the best that has been known and thought in the world ”
Matthew Arnold Culture and Anarchy
Books especially the great ones are not just simply a form entertainment. They are the greatest tools at our disposal to inspire us towards living more full lives.
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We all at one point or another, felt trapped in endless repetition of drudgery. A feeling we would go to great lengths to rid off. Reading the great books at such times can be a great source of escape, which we so much need at the said times.
Or as Mark Edmundson wrote;
“We all get socialized once by our parents and teachers, ministers and priests. [Reading great books] is about getting a second chance. It’s not about being born again, but about growing up a second time, this time around as your own educator and guide, Virgil to yourself. ”
Mark Edmundson Why Read?
Again and again we lament over the lack of good role models, and blame our problems on never having been taught how to deal with life's difficulties. Those are the times everything seems to be going South no matter how hard we try to progress on with our journey through life. Great books can take on an important role in helping us overcome and cure ourselves of such deficiencies. Biographies offer a great access to role models who exceed any one we are likely to meet in real life.
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Great works of fiction depict the human condition, and ways to navigate it, in a way unsurpassed by any other medium. When life grows stale it is the great books we should always turn to for wisdom and guidance. They are the best sources to discover new ways of existing in the world.
Edmundson further explains;
“The test of a book lies in its power to map or transform a life. The question we would ultimately ask of any work of art is this: Can you live it? If you cannot, it may still command considerable interest. The work may charm, it may divert. It may teach us something about the larger world; it may refine a point. But if it cannot help some of us to imagine a life, or unfold one already latent within, then it is not major work…Books should be called major and become canonical when over time they provide existing individuals with live options that will help them change for the better. ”
Mark Edmundson Why Read?
The importance of self-knowledge in a life well lived has long been known, but we all understand how difficult a task it is to attain. Along with providing us with ways to improve our life, the great books can also aid us in the process of self-discovery, for along with our powers of self-deception, we often lack the words to describe and express the subtle and more profound contents of our mind. Great works of fiction can help remedy this, as the authors of these works are some of the astute observers of human nature. Through their characters they depict depths of human soul few are able to disclose, and thus their words can be used to unravel the mysteries of our own mind.
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“We need to learn not simply to read books but to allow ourselves to be read by them. ”
Mark Edmundson Why Read?
20th century French author Marcel Proust explained;
“…it would be inaccurate…to say that of those who would read [my book] as ‘my’ readers. For it seemed to me that they would not be ‘my’ readers but readers of their own selves. ”
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
Unfortunately, many of the modern professors of Humanities and Liberal arts are teaching students to Historicize and criticize the great books, and explain them away as "Irrelevant relics of the past." Many of the professors believe the great books are interesting only insofar as they serve as examples of the so-called "backwards" social and political climate of the times in which they were produced.
“We will not have a real humanistic education…until professors, and their students, can give up the narcissistic illusion that through something called theory, or criticism, they can stand above Milton, Shakespeare, and Dante. ”
Mark Edmundson Why Read?
This critical historical stance is breeding what the philosopher James Edwards called “Normal Nihilists” that is students who are masters in critical thinking for its own-sake, specialists in tearing down all ideas, and claims to beauty, truth and knowledge.
“It is easy be brilliant when you do not believe in anything. ”
Goethe
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Fortunately we can engage in our own personal study of the great works of history without subjecting ourselves to the corrupting influence of the modern university. And if we decide to be among the few, who make reading great books a priority, what we are likely to discover is that with time, we become more fixated on the wisdom contained in them, the pull of technology and the white noise of culture around us, will lose its grip on our mind.
For as Edmundson explains;
“People who have taught themselves how to live — what to be, what to do — from reading great works will not be overly susceptible to the culture industry’s latest wares. They’ll be able to sample them, or turn completely away—they’ll have better things on their minds. ”
Mark Edmundson Why Read?
- The American Scholar
- Culture and Anarchy
- Why Read?
- In Search of Lost Time
- Benefits of Reading
- The Plain Sense of Things
- Being brilliant is no great...
Peace! ✌️