One may find Cowper more profitable than Wordsworth; to another
the reading of Bancroft may be more advantageous than that of Herodotus;
while a third may gain more immediate and lasting good from historical
novels like Eber's 'Uarda,' or Kingsley's 'Hypatia,' than from a long
and patient attempt to master Grote's 'History of Greece,' or Gibbon's
'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.' Each individual reader must
try to determine, first of all, what is best for himself. In forming
his decision, let him make the utmost use of the best guides, not
forgetting that the average opinion of educated men is pretty sure
to be a correct opinion; but let him never put aside his own honesty
and individuality. He must choose his books as he chooses his friends,
because of their integrity and helpfulness, and because of the pleasure
their society gives him."
VI.
ENGLISH LITERATURE AND OTHER STUDIES.
In the majority of our higher schools, and probably in the education
of most persons, a deficiency in the knowledge of English is to be
remarked. Now, if girls are not fond of science, nor inclined to the
study of philosophy, foreign languages, music, or painting, why do
they not follow certain courses in English? Why do they not study
English literature, paying heed to its history, its rhetoric, but more
especially to the works of its greatest authors? Literature is the
most cultivating to the mind, the most necessary to a general education,
and it affords the most pleasure to persons, no matter what their
condition may be.
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