Sometimes It Feels Like I'm Thinking Against

In The Case Of Good Books, The Point Is Not To See How Many Of Them You Can Get Through, But How Many Can Get Through To You.

If You Ask A Living Teacher A Question, He Will Probably Answer You. If You Are Puzzled By What He Says, You Can Save Yourself The Trouble Of Thinking By Asking Him What He Means. If, However, You Ask A Book A Question, You Must Answer It Yourself. In This Respect A Book Is Like Nature Or The World. When You Question It, It Answers You Only To The Extent That You Do The Work Of Thinking An Analysis Yourself.

Freud's View Is That All Love Is Sexual In Its Origin Or Its Basis. Even Those Loves Which Do Not Appear To Be Sexual Or Erotic Have A Sexual Root Or Core. They Are All Sublimations Of The Sexual Instinct.

The Ability To Retain A Child's View Of The World With At The Same Time A Mature Understanding Of What It Means To Retain It, Is Extremely Rare - And A Person Who Has These Qualities Is Likely To Be Able To Contribute Something Really Important To Our Thinking.

A Good Book Deserves An Active Reading. The Activity Of Reading Does Not Stop With The Work Of Understanding What A Book Says. It Must Be Completed By The Work Of Criticism, The Work Of Judging. The Undemanding Reader Fails To Satisfy This Requirement, Probably Even More Than He Fails To Analyze And Interpret. He Not Only Makes No Effort To Understand; He Also Dismisses A Book Simply By Putting It Aside And Forgetting It. Worse Than Faintly Praising It, He Damns It By Giving It No Critical Consideration Whatever.