Smiling always with a never fading serenity of countenance, and flourishing in an immortal youth.
Isaac BarrowRead
The reading of books, what is it but conversing with the wisest men of all ages and all countries.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading books allows us to engage in conversation with the greatest minds throughout history.
This quote emphasizes the transformative power of reading, suggesting that when we immerse ourselves in books, we are not just passively consuming information, but actively engaging in dialogue with the most knowledgeable and insightful individuals across time and culture. It highlights the idea that literature serves as a bridge connecting us to wisdom from various eras and locales, making the reading experience deeply enriching and educational.
Themes
ReadingBooksWisdomKnowledgeEducation
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the importance of literature, I quoted, 'The reading of books, what is it but conversing with the wisest men of all ages and all countries.'
More from Isaac Barrow
All quotes βBecause men believe not in Providence, therefore they do so greedily scrape and hoard. They do not believe in any reward for charity, therefore they will part with nothing.
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If men are wont to play with swearing anywhere, can we expect they should be serious and strict therein at the bar or in the church.
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That men should live honestly, quietly, and comfortably together, it is needful that they should live under a sense of God's will, and in awe of the divine power, hoping to please God, and fearing to offend Him, by their behaviour respectively.
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Nothing of worth or weight can be achieved with half a mind, with a faint heart, and with a lame endeavor.
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Upright simplicity is the deepest wisdom, and perverse craft the merest shallowness.
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Experience is an author's most valuable asset; experience is the thing that puts the muscle and the breath and the warm blood into the book he writes.
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As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more indolent; whence must necessarily arise a desire of attaining knowledge with the greatest possible ease.
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Travel stories teach geography; insect stories lead the child into natural science; and so on. The teacher, in short, can use reading to introduce her pupils to the most varied subjects; and the moment they have been thus started, they can go on to any limit guided by the single passion for reading.
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Headmasters have powers at their disposal with which Prime ministers have never yet been invested.
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Students and scholars of all kinds and of every age aim, as a rule, only at information, not insight. They make it a point of honour to have information about everything, every stone, plant, battle, or experiment and about all books, collectively and individually. It never occurs to them that information is merely a means to insight, but in itself is of little or no value.
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Schooling should not be left to the whim or wealth of village elders. I believe that we should fund all schools in the U.S. with our national resources. All these kids are being educated to be Americans, not citizens of Minneapolis or San Francisco.
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