Let's reading Walden (2)

The best books are not read even by those who are called good readers. What does our Concord culture amount to? There is in this town, with a very few exceptions, no taste for the best or for very good books even in English literature, whose words all can read and spell. Even the college-bred and so-called liberally educated men here and elsewhere ?have really little or no acquaintance with the English classics; and as for the recorded wisdom of mankind, the ancient classics are the feeblest efforts anywhere made to become acquainted with them. I know a woodchopper, of middle age, who takes a French paper, not for news as he says, for he is above that, but to "keep himself in practice," he being a Canadian by birth; and when I ask him what he considers the best thing he can do in this world, he says, beside this , to keep up and add to his English. This is about as much as the college-bred generally do or aspire to do, and they take and English paper for the purpose. One who has just come from reading perhaps one of the best English books will find how many with whom he can converse about it? Or suppose he comes from reading a Greek or Latin classic in the original, whose praises are familiar even to the so-called illiterate; he will find nobody at all to speak to, but must keep silence about it. In deed, there is hardly the professor in our colleges, who, if he has mastered the difficulties of the language, has proportionally mastered the difficulties of the wit and poetry of a Greek poet, and has any sympathy to import to the alert and heroic reader;and as for the sacred Scriptures, or Bibles of mankind, who in this town can tell me even their titles? Most men do not know that any nation but the Hebrews have had a scripture. A man, any man, will go considerably out of his way to pick up a silver dollar; but here are golden words, which the wisest men of antiquity have uttered, and whose worth the wise of every succeeding age have assured us of ; and yet we learn to read only as far as Easy Reading, the primers and class-books, and when we heave school, the "Little Reading" and story-books, which are for boys and beginners; and our reading, our conversation and thinking, are all on a very low level, worthy only of pygmies and manikins.

最后編輯于
?著作權歸作者所有,轉載或內容合作請聯(lián)系作者
  • 序言:七十年代末家卖,一起剝皮案震驚了整個濱河市,隨后出現(xiàn)的幾起案子,更是在濱河造成了極大的恐慌,老刑警劉巖狼犯,帶你破解...
    沈念sama閱讀 221,888評論 6 515
  • 序言:濱河連續(xù)發(fā)生了三起死亡事件,死亡現(xiàn)場離奇詭異糟趾,居然都是意外死亡原朝,警方通過查閱死者的電腦和手機,發(fā)現(xiàn)死者居然都...
    沈念sama閱讀 94,677評論 3 399
  • 文/潘曉璐 我一進店門假瞬,熙熙樓的掌柜王于貴愁眉苦臉地迎上來陕靠,“玉大人,你說我怎么就攤上這事脱茉〖艚妫” “怎么了?”我有些...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 168,386評論 0 360
  • 文/不壞的土叔 我叫張陵琴许,是天一觀的道長税肪。 經常有香客問我,道長榜田,這世上最難降的妖魔是什么寸认? 我笑而不...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 59,726評論 1 297
  • 正文 為了忘掉前任,我火速辦了婚禮串慰,結果婚禮上偏塞,老公的妹妹穿的比我還像新娘。我一直安慰自己邦鲫,他們只是感情好灸叼,可當我...
    茶點故事閱讀 68,729評論 6 397
  • 文/花漫 我一把揭開白布神汹。 她就那樣靜靜地躺著,像睡著了一般古今。 火紅的嫁衣襯著肌膚如雪屁魏。 梳的紋絲不亂的頭發(fā)上,一...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 52,337評論 1 310
  • 那天捉腥,我揣著相機與錄音氓拼,去河邊找鬼。 笑死抵碟,一個胖子當著我的面吹牛桃漾,可吹牛的內容都是我干的。 我是一名探鬼主播拟逮,決...
    沈念sama閱讀 40,902評論 3 421
  • 文/蒼蘭香墨 我猛地睜開眼撬统,長吁一口氣:“原來是場噩夢啊……” “哼!你這毒婦竟也來了敦迄?” 一聲冷哼從身側響起恋追,我...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 39,807評論 0 276
  • 序言:老撾萬榮一對情侶失蹤,失蹤者是張志新(化名)和其女友劉穎罚屋,沒想到半個月后苦囱,有當?shù)厝嗽跇淞掷锇l(fā)現(xiàn)了一具尸體,經...
    沈念sama閱讀 46,349評論 1 318
  • 正文 獨居荒郊野嶺守林人離奇死亡脾猛,尸身上長有42處帶血的膿包…… 初始之章·張勛 以下內容為張勛視角 年9月15日...
    茶點故事閱讀 38,439評論 3 340
  • 正文 我和宋清朗相戀三年撕彤,在試婚紗的時候發(fā)現(xiàn)自己被綠了。 大學時的朋友給我發(fā)了我未婚夫和他白月光在一起吃飯的照片尖滚。...
    茶點故事閱讀 40,567評論 1 352
  • 序言:一個原本活蹦亂跳的男人離奇死亡,死狀恐怖瞧柔,靈堂內的尸體忽然破棺而出漆弄,到底是詐尸還是另有隱情,我是刑警寧澤造锅,帶...
    沈念sama閱讀 36,242評論 5 350
  • 正文 年R本政府宣布撼唾,位于F島的核電站,受9級特大地震影響哥蔚,放射性物質發(fā)生泄漏倒谷。R本人自食惡果不足惜,卻給世界環(huán)境...
    茶點故事閱讀 41,933評論 3 334
  • 文/蒙蒙 一糙箍、第九天 我趴在偏房一處隱蔽的房頂上張望渤愁。 院中可真熱鬧,春花似錦深夯、人聲如沸抖格。這莊子的主人今日做“春日...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 32,420評論 0 24
  • 文/蒼蘭香墨 我抬頭看了看天上的太陽雹拄。三九已至收奔,卻和暖如春,著一層夾襖步出監(jiān)牢的瞬間滓玖,已是汗流浹背坪哄。 一陣腳步聲響...
    開封第一講書人閱讀 33,531評論 1 272
  • 我被黑心中介騙來泰國打工, 沒想到剛下飛機就差點兒被人妖公主榨干…… 1. 我叫王不留势篡,地道東北人翩肌。 一個月前我還...
    沈念sama閱讀 48,995評論 3 377
  • 正文 我出身青樓,卻偏偏與公主長得像殊霞,于是被迫代替她去往敵國和親摧阅。 傳聞我的和親對象是個殘疾皇子,可洞房花燭夜當晚...
    茶點故事閱讀 45,585評論 2 359

推薦閱讀更多精彩內容

  • **2014真題Directions:Read the following text. Choose the be...
    又是夜半驚坐起閱讀 9,573評論 0 23
  • PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING APPLE DEVELOPER PROGRAM LICENSE...
    念念不忘的閱讀 13,492評論 5 6
  • 春天是個暴躁的季節(jié) 一切都那么躁動 蠢蠢欲動 石頭壓不住的野草 北風凋不盡的花 我愛不夠的你的不愛我 從不知因果
    塵詩閱讀 264評論 0 0
  • 在這個個性張揚到近乎跋扈的年代绷蹲,常常聽到人說U can u up棒卷,no can no bb. BB這個詞似乎是貶義...
    請叫我BBM閱讀 504評論 0 50
  • 這個夢最近反反復復,睡的一點都不好祝钢。 黑暗中比规,一群人,向上爬拦英,都在爬蜒什,而我在看,都看不見后疤估,有人說爬上去能贏灾常,我也...
    周大濕閱讀 131評論 0 0