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 Read
more books! Classics in particular. Henry David Thoreau, an American
author, poet and philosopher (1817~1862), was right and to the point
when he said, “Read the best books first, or you may not have a
chance to read them at all.” We must read good books, because our
lives are shaped by the books we read,
as Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th U.S. president, once
said, “I am a part of everything that I have read.”
Many people say they don’t have time to read books, let alone classics,
because they have to struggle in an endless rat
race in their everyday lives. J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry
Potter series, could ask them, “How can you not have time to read?”
She said, “I read when I’m drying my hair. I read in the bath. I
read when I’m sitting in the bathroom. Pretty much anywhere I can
do the job one-handed, I read.” Among
others, you need to read classic books so that you can develop your
own critical thinking and build
your own philosophical viewpoint.
Thomas Jefferson (1743?1826), an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence,
and the 3rd U.S. president, encouraged his friends to read great
books by sending them lists of great books. Harvard University began
publishing a great books series titled “Harvard Classics” in 1909.
It was a 51-volume anthology of classic works
from world literature. Currently, many other universities run their
own great books programs for their students.
“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest
men of past centuries,” Rene Descartes (1596~1650), a French philosopher,
said. What books are on the Harvard Classics list? They understandably
include The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin; The Apology by Plato;
Essays by Francis Bacon; The Confessions by Saint Augustine; The
Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith; The Origin of Species by Charles
Darwin; Some Thoughts Concerning Education by John Locke; The Odyssey
by Homer; and The Sayings of Confucius. As Victor Hugo (1802~1885),
the author of Les Miserables, said, “To learn to read is to light
a fire; every syllable that is spelled
out is a spark.” Can your selection of books spark
your own learning? |
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