Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards not the conclusion, but is diligent to mark how it is inferred; they read for other purposes than the attainment of practical knowledge; and are no more likely to grow wise by an examination of a treatise of moral prudence, than an architect to inflame his devotion by considering attentively the proportions of a temple.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that readers often focus more on style or argument rather than practical knowledge, similar to how an architect might admire a temple's design without gaining deeper understanding.
Samuel Johnson's quote reflects on the different motives behind reading and understanding texts. He highlights that some individuals are drawn to the elegance of expression or the intricacies of argumentation, rather than seeking to obtain practical wisdom or moral insight from the material. This implies that merely analyzing the structure or style of a piece, like that of a temple, does not inherently lead to personal growth or a deeper comprehension of the underlying principles, much like an architect who is enamored by the aesthetics without grasping the spiritual or functional significance behind it.
In practice
In a book club discussion about reading goals and methods.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life.
Let the human mind loose. It must be loose. It will be loose. Superstition and dogmatism cannot confine it.
How terrible is wisdom, when it brings no profit to the man that's wise
A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.
No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.
Predicting rain doesn't count. Building arks does.
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