Evening star., 1909-07-08
READING THAT MEN NEED.
BOOKS WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL
TO A LIBERAL EDUCATION.
A Man Must Know Current His
tory and Keep in Touch With
His Own Times.
From the independent.

From the Independent.
Let us come down to common sense.
What Is a liberal education? 1t can
not be defined. The term is extensible
and reducible. Its meaning depends on
the community and the age. Going
through college does not give 1t; learned
man may lack 1t.
The subject is suggested by President
Eliots surprising proposal to put on
shelf five feet long some twenty-five
books whose careful and repeated reading
will give a man a liberal education. We
have read the list. SO far as published,
and 1t has its merits and defects, as all
such numerous lists have. They show
the personal equation. In each one-half
the books could remain unread and yet
a man have a liberal education.
For a moderately liberal education a
man must be able fairly to apprehend the
current history of the world. He should
first read a good daily paper. He can
skip all that does not make history, the
accidents, the crimes, the society events,
the games and races, the actresses and
divorces; but he cannot omit the major
events, the process and progress of legis-
lation, the movements of democracy, the
conflicts of privilege, the discoveries in
science, the inventions in the arts, the
diplomacy of nations and the general
duVdHC6 Oh ClNlilZdl1On. OF THESE are
the things that man of liberal educa
tion should be able intelligently to un-
derstand. These things are of Importance
to humanity, and to have them foreign
from ones education leaves 1t utterly IL
liberal. Therefore, the first thing nee
essary is not a book for the shelf but
a broad intelligent journal for the table.
Then for books. 1t is impossible to
gain fairly liberal education without
the basis for an understanding of these
current facts nf history. this
quires the reading of some books. What
are the important books?
Value of Text Books.
Largely text books or compends. For
example. one should have read and fairly
, mastered reasonably full treatises con-
tanning the latest conclusions in the chief
sciences. such as chemistry. physics, ge-
ology, biology and astrono-~y, so that
what he reads in the journals and maga-
zines. He will keep in touch with new
discoveries and inventions. He will be
man of his age, for liberal education is
the education of this and not of some
past age. Equally he will read as good
text books as he can find in sociology, po-
litical economy and governments. This
will require reading of the history of the
principal nations, or. at least, of gen.
eral history of the world. He must have
to distinguish their differences and their
worth.
Now comes the question of the value
of pure literature, in a liberal education.
There is no doubt of its Importance to
put the polish on education which is
truly liberal, that is, an education that
will fit a man intelligently to perform
the duties of a citizen able to guide pub
lie sentiment and direct the policies of
his community or his nation. But pure
| literature is not of the framework. the
bone and muscle Of liberal education
but of that beauty which is skin deep 1t
| is delightful to read Chaucer or Dante
but many man of liberal educa ton
Queen is nothing less than luscious, but
not one highly educated man in a hun
| dred has ever read 1t. Bacons essays
| we would have every man read who has
| without it. The long lists of famous
| names of ancient and modern times at
tract us and give us additional culture
| If we have time for them, but the bulk
of them are not essential to what is
called a liberal education. You cannot
call that liberal education that is not
familiar with the Bible, because our Eng
lish thought is SO much based upon It;
and We suppose We ought to add the
Had, the Odyssey and the Aeneid for
similar but less weighty reason, but it is
not necessary in these days to add the
works Of any other classical author, un-
less 1t be Platos Apology and "Crito";
not even the Odes of Horace.
Shakespeare Necessary.
And when 1t comes to the older Eng
| lish poetry and prose, Shakespeare-well,
one needs to have read his plays twice
or three times, to be fairly intelligent,
although President Eliot's list does not
include Shakespeare-perhaps 1t is as
sumed that the Bible and Shakespeare are
already in possession before the five-foot
book shelf was planned for. For
other poetry one can get all he really
needs for a fairly liberal education with
| in the covers of two or three volumes
which give US golden treasures of ac-
! cepted verse. And as for prose. the
| Spectator" and the whole series Of es-
caulay and Burke. need to he busted
| once a year by the careful housewife.
| We are too busy with the essentials of
the liberal education of today to trouble
| ourselves overmuch with them
| Is this iconoclasric? Yes, 1t is, and
we do not like it near as much as we
| believe in 1t. Find us, If you can, the
rare man. who has not to work his ten
| or twelve hours a day to keep up his
| end in the worlds service, and who has
! time to do what every man with a liberal
education longs to do. II he adds to it
| the taste and the passion for what is
beautiful and fascinating in the con-
ctnnities of chosen words, and what is
noble and inspiring in the enthusiasms
of brave thoughts and he will feed his
| mind and soul with the fairest purpled
fruits and sweetest fragrant confections
| Of the ages; and blessed is he If he does
not become sybarite Of culture. and is
yet able to use liberal education for
the only purpose for which the world will
| ever value it.