Reading Is A Basic Tool In The

The Philosopher Ought Never To Try To Avoid The Duty Of Making Up His Mind.

Angels Are Able To Know And Understand Better Than The Human Intellect Can, Precisely Because Such Knowledge And Understanding Comes To Them By Way Of Ideas Infused In Them By God.

Reading A Book Should Be A Conversation Between You And The Author. Presumably He Knows More About The Subject Than You Do; If Not, You Probably Should Not Be Bothering With His Book. But Understanding Is A Two-way Operation; The Learner Has To Question Himself And Question The Teacher, Once He Understands What The Teacher Is Saying. Marking A Book Is Literally An Expression Of Your Differences Or Your Agreements With The Author. It Is The Highest Respect You Can Pay Him.

The Best Protection Against Propaganda Of Any Sort Is The Recognition Of It For What It Is. Only Hidden And Undetected Oratory Is Really Insidious. What Reaches The Heart Without Going Through The Mind Is Likely To Bounce Back And Put The Mind Out Of Business. Propaganda Taken In That Way Is Like A Drug You Do Not Know You Are Swallowing. The Effect Is Mysterious; You Do Not Know Afterwards Why You Feel Or Think The Way You Do.

If You Are Reading In Order To Become A Better Reader, You Cannot Read Just Any Book Or Article. You Will Not Improve As A Reader If All You Read Are Books That Are Well Within Your Capacity. You Must Tackle Books That Are Beyond You, Or, As We Have Said, Books That Are Over Your Head. Only Books Of That Sort Will Make You Stretch Your Mind. And Unless You Stretch, You Will Not Learn.