IS THE HIGHER EDUCATION AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY?--DESIRE TO
GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE WILL MAKE ONE MASTER OF ALL
THE BEST BOOKS.
In changing from the ancient and medieval world to the modern world of
books there is a gap which cannot be bridged. A few writers flourished
in this interval, but they are not worth consideration in the general
scheme of reading which has been laid down in these articles. So the
change must be made from the works that have been noticed to the first
great writers of England who deserve a place in this popular course of
reading. But before starting on these English writers of some of the
world's great books I wish to say a few words on the general subject of
books and reading, prompted mainly by a letter received from a Shasta
county correspondent. The writer is a man who has evidently devoted
thought to the subject, and his opinions will probably voice the
conclusions of many others who are eager to read the best books, but who
fancy that they lack the requisite mental training. Here is the gist of
this letter, which is worth reproduction, because it probably represents
the mental attitude of a large number of people who have lacked early
opportunities of study:
"The trouble with the 'Five-foot shelf of books' is that it
is too long for the average man and intellectually it is up
out of his reach. He can, perhaps, manage the Bible, for he
can get commentaries on almost any part of it, and on
occasion can hear sermons preached, but he will get very
little benefit from a perusal of most of the others for the
simple reason that he has not education enough in order to
understand them. To read Shakespeare one should have at least
a high school education, and about all the others need
something even better in the way of schooling. Is it not
possible to obtain this comfort, instruction and
entertainment by a perusal of more modern books that the
average man can understand?
"We are apt to look back to the days of our youth as a time
of sunshine and flowers, a time, in fact, of all things good;
so, also, we are prone to give the men of ancient days some a
golden crown, and some a halo, and ascribe to them an
importance beyond their real value to us of these later days.
Modern times and modern nations are rich in material well
worth reading. Such books have the advantage in that the
average man can understand them, and can be entertained and
edified thereby.
"People who are already in possession of culture and
education are not so much in need of advice concerning their
choice of books, for they have the ability to make proper
discrimination. It is the common people, those who have been
unable to obtain this higher education and culture, that need
the assistance to promote the proper growth of their
intellectual and spiritual lives."
There is much in this letter which is worthy of thought. It is evidently
the sincere expression of a man who has tried to appreciate the world's
great classics and has failed, mainly because he has had this mental
consciousness that he was not prepared to read and appreciate them. It
is this attitude toward the world's great books which I wished to remove
in these articles. It has been my aim to write for the men and women who
have not had the advantage of a high school or college education. Any
higher education is of great benefit, but my experience has shown me
that the person who has a genuine thirst for knowledge will gain more
through self-culture than the careless or indifferent student who may
have all the advantages of the best high school or university training.
The man or woman who is genuinely in earnest and who wishes to repair
defects of early training will go further with poor tools and limited
opportunities than the indolent or careless student who has within reach
the best equipment of a great university. All that is necessary to
understand and appreciate the great books which have been noticed in
this series of articles is an ordinary grammar school education and the
desire to gain knowledge and culture. Given this strong desire to know
and to appreciate good books and one will go far, even though he may be
handicapped by a very imperfect education.
My correspondent declares that he does not think Shakespeare and other
great books mentioned may be appreciated without the benefit of a high
school education. This seems to me an overstatement of the case. Of
course, blank verse is more difficult to follow than prose, but much of
Shakespeare's work, though he uses a far richer vocabulary than the King
James' translators of the Bible, is nearly as simple, because the
dramatist appeals to the fundamental passions and emotions of men, which
have not changed materially since the days of Elizabeth.
That this is true is shown whenever a play of Shakespeare's is given by
a dramatic company which includes one or two fine actors. The people in
the audience who are accustomed to cheap melodrama will be as profoundly
affected by Othello or Shylock, or even by Hamlet, as those who are
intimately familiar with the text and have seen all the great actors in
these roles from the time of the elder Booth. Actors and dramatic
critics have often commented on the power that resides in Shakespeare's
words to move an uncultured audience far more strongly than it can be
moved by turgid melodrama. And even in a play like _Hamlet_, which is
introspective and demands some thought on the part of the audience,
there is never any listlessness in front of the footlights when a really
great actor depicts the woes and the indecision of the melancholy Dane.
The same thing holds good in reading, if one will only bring to the work
the same keen interest that moves the audience in the theater. Here are
the same words, the same unfolding of the plot, the same skillful
development of character, the same fatality which follows weakness or
indecision that may be seen on the stage; only the reader, whether he
works alone or in company with others, must bring to his labor a keen
desire to understand the dramatist, and he must be willing to accept the
aid of the commentators who have made Shakespearean study so simple and
attractive a task.
Get an ordinary school or college edition of one of Shakespeare's plays,
read the notes, look up any words that are unfamiliar to you, even
though the editor may have ignored them. Then, after you have mastered
the text, read what the best critics have said of the play and its
characters. You will now be in a condition to enjoy thoroughly the
careful reading of the play as literature, and it is from such reading,
when all the difficulties of the text have been removed, that literary
culture comes. Always read aloud, when possible, because in this way
alone can you train the ear to the cadence of the verse and learn to
enjoy the music of the best poetry.
From my own experience, I would suggest the formation of small reading
clubs of four or six persons, meeting at regular times. The members
should be of congenial tastes, and it should be understood that
promptness and regularity of attendance are vital. Such a club will be
able to accomplish far more work than the solitary reader, and the
stimulus of other minds will keep the interest keen and unflagging. The
best scheme for such a club is to set a certain amount of reading and
have each member go over the allotted portion carefully before the club
meeting. Then all will be prepared to make suggestions and to remove any
difficulties.
Such a club, meeting two or three evenings in a week, will be able to
get through a very large amount of good reading in a few months, and
what seemed labor at first will soon become a genuine pleasure and a
means of intellectual recreation. No one knows better than myself the
up-hill work that attends solitary reading or study. Not one in a
thousand can be counted on to continue reading alone, month after month,
with no stimulus, except perhaps occasional talks with some one who is
interested in the same books. It is dreary work at best, relieved only
by the joy of mental growth and development. To share one's pleasure in
a book is like sharing enjoyment in a splendid view or a fine work of
art: it helps to fix that book in the mind. One never knows whether he
has thoroughly mastered a book until he attempts to put in words his
impressions of the volume and of the author. To discuss favorite books
with congenial associates is one of the great pleasures of life, as well
as one of the best tests of knowledge.
With all the equipment that has been devised in the way of notes and
comment by the best editors, the text of the great books of the world
should offer no difficulties to one who understands English and who has
an ordinary vocabulary. The very fact that some of these old writers
have novel points of view should be a stimulus to the reader; for in
this age of the limited railroad train, the telephone, the automobile
and the aeroplane, it is well occasionally to be reminded that
Shakespeare and the writers of the Bible knew as much about human nature
as we know today, and that their philosophy was far saner and simpler
than ours, and far better to use as a basis in making life worth
living.