Stepping Heavenward

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:2

On the Reading of Old Books
Jul. 23, 2008

"There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books. Thus I have found as a tutor in English Literature that if the average student wants to find out something about Platonism, the very last thing he thinks of doing is to take a translation of Plato off the library shelf and read the Symposium. He would rather read some dreary modern book ten times as long, all about "isms" and influences and only once in twelve pages telling him what Plato actually said. The error is rather an amiable one, for it springs from humility. The student is half afraid to meet one of the great philosophers face to face. He feels himself inadequate and thinks he will not understand him. But if he only knew, the great man, just because of his greatness, is much more intelligible than his modern commentator. The simplest student will be able to understand, if not all, yet a very great deal of what Plato said; but hardly anyone can understand some modern books on Platonism. It has always therefore been one of my main endeavours as a teacher to persuade the young that firsthand knowledge is not only more worth acquiring than secondhand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire.

This mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology ... Now this seems to me topsy-turvy. Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old. And I would give him this advice precisely because he is an amateur and therefore much less protected than the expert against the dangers of an exclusive contemporary diet. A new book is still on its trial and the amateur is not in a position to judge it. It has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down the ages, and all of its hidden implications (often unsuspected by the author himself) have to be brought to light. Often it cannot be fully understood without the knowledge of a good many other modern books. If you join at eleven o'clock a conversation which began at eight you will often not see the real bearing of what is said. Remarks which seem to you very ordinary will produce laughter or irritation and you will not see why—the reason, of course, being that the earlier stages of the conversation have given them a special point. In the same way sentences in a modern book which look quite ordinary may be directed at some other book; in this way you may be led to accept what you would have indignantly rejected if you knew its real significance."

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Category: Christian Walk

Stepping Heavenward
Hi! I stumbled upon your blog b/c i was looking for a cheap way to buy a bunch of Stepping Heavenward books for my friends b/c i have loved the book! Don't you love it!! i haven't read anything else by her, but i plan to. I am so encouraged by her sometimes funny, but deeply personal struggle with Christ-likeness. I am almost done with book and I can't wait to get to the end, but i also don't want it to end! thanks for sharing on your blog! Alicia
homeschoolingnewB - 1:36 PM - Aug. 23, 2008

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He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:2

On the Reading of Old Books
Jul. 23, 2008

Send this to a Friend - Post Comment