Reading Old Books

Ah, old books. Truth be told, if a book is initially inviting and intensely riveting, it really doesn't concern me when it was published. However, I think Clive Staples (did anyone ever call him either of those names?) makes an excellent point in "On the Reading of Old Books" that we should be mindful to intersperse our enjoyment of modern novels with those published in an earlier time. His reasoning is, at least in part, that there are ideas and elements in societies that change with the passing of time, and to think that our own ideas and elements are the best that could possibly exist would be just as foolish as if the Greeks or the Romans thought the same thing. Thus acknowledging that our modern philosophies are imperfect, we would then do well to discover what superior gems may be found from past cultures (since those from the future are sadly unavailable) so we might thereby be further enlightened.

I think this is both an excellent observation and a valuable piece of advice.Nevertheless, I actually think it could be taken further. I believe that time is not the only barrier that separates individuals from new philosophies. Divides cultural, political, and lingual also do a fine job splitting people, and consequently ideas, apart. Even though I would do well to heed my own advice, many great things can be learned from our contemporaries in other lands and of other languages. In fact, I think Lewis' suggestion of switching off from old and new books could benefit from the insertion of foreign works into the rotation as well.