第52章

NowandthenIamaskedasto“whatbooksastatesmanshouldread。”

andmyansweris，poetryandnovels——includingshortstoriesundertheheadofnovels。Idon’tmeanthatheshouldreadonlynovelsandmodernpoetry。IfhecannotalsoenjoytheHebrewprophetsandtheGreekdramatists，heshouldbesorry。Heoughttoreadinterestingbooksonhistoryandgovernment，andbooksofscienceandphilosophy；

andreallygoodbooksonthesesubjectsareasenthrallingasanyfictioneverwritteninproseorverse。GibbonandMacaulay，Herodotus，ThucydidesandTacitus，theHeimskringla，Froissart，JoinvilleandVillehardouin，ParkmanandMahan，MommsenandRanke——

why！therearescoresandscoresofsolidhistories，thebestintheworld，whichareasabsorbingasthebestofallthenovels，andofaspermanentvalue。ThesamethingistrueofDarwinandHuxleyandCarlyleandEmerson，andpartsofKant，andofvolumeslikeSutherland’s“GrowthoftheMoralInstinct。”orActon’sEssaysandLounsbury’sstudies——hereagainIamnottryingtoclassbookstogether，ormeasureonebyanother，orenumerateoneinathousandofthoseworthreading，butjusttoindicatethatanymanorwomanofsomeintelligenceandsomecultivationcaninsomelineorotherofseriousthought，scientificorhistoricalorphilosophicaloreconomicorgovernmental，findanynumberofbookswhicharecharmingtoread，andwhichinadditiongivethatforwhichhisorhersoulhungers。I

donotforaminutemeanthatthestatesmanoughtnottoreadagreatmanydifferentbooksofthischaracter，justaseveryoneelseshouldreadthem。But，inthefinalevent，thestatesman，andthepublicist，andthereformer，andtheagitatorfornewthings，andtheupholderofwhatisgoodinoldthings，allneedmorethananythingelsetoknowhumannature，toknowtheneedsofthehumansoul；andtheywillfindthisnatureandtheseneedssetforthasnowhereelsebythegreatimaginativewriters，whetherofproseorofpoetry。

Theroomforchoiceissolimitlessthattomyminditseemsabsurdtotrytomakecatalogueswhichshallbesupposedtoappealtoallthebestthinkers。ThisiswhyIhavenosympathywhateverwithwritinglistsoftheOneHundredBestBooks，ortheFive-FootLibrary。Itisallrightforamantoamusehimselfbycomposingalistofahundredverygoodbooks；andifheistogooffforayearorsowherehecannotgetmanybooks，itisanexcellentthingtochooseafive-footlibraryofparticularbookswhichinthatparticularyearandonthatparticulartriphewouldliketoread。Butthereisnosuchthingasahundredbooksthatarebestforallmen，orforthemajorityofmen，orforonemanatalltimes；andthereisnosuchthingasafive-footlibrarywhichwillsatisfytheneedsofevenoneparticularmanondifferentoccasionsextendingoveranumberofyears。MiltonisbestforonemoodandPopeforanother。BecauseamanlikesWhitmanorBrowningorLowellheshouldnotfeelhimselfdebarredfromTennysonorKiplingorKornerorHeineortheBardoftheDimbovitza。Tolstoy’snovelsaregoodatonetimeandthoseofSienkiewiczatanother；andheisfortunatewhocanrelish“Salammbo“and“TomBrown“andthe“TwoAdmirals“and“QuentinDurward“and“ArtemusWard“andthe“IngoldsbyLegends“and“Pickwick“and“VanityFair。”Why，therearehundredsofbookslikethese，eachoneofwhich，ifreallyread，reallyassimilated，bythepersontowhomithappenstoappeal，willenablethatpersonquiteunconsciouslytofurnishhimselfwithmuchammunitionwhichhewillfindofuseinthebattleoflife。

Abookmustbeinterestingtotheparticularreaderatthatparticulartime。Buttherearetensofthousandsofinterestingbooks，andsomeofthemaresealedtosomemenandsomearesealedtoothers；andsomestirthesoulatsomegivenpointofaman’slifeandyetconveynomessageatothertimes。Thereader，thebooklover，mustmeethisownneedswithoutpayingtoomuchattentiontowhathisneighborssaythoseneedsshouldbe。Hemustnothypocriticallypretendtolikewhathedoesnotlike。Yetatthesametimehemustavoidthatmostunpleasantofalltheindicationsofpuffed-upvanitywhichconsistsintreatingmereindividual，andperhapsunfortunate，idiosyncrasyasamatterofpride。IhappentobedevotedtoMacbeth，whereasIveryseldomreadHamlet(thoughIlikepartsofit)。NowIamhumblyandsincerelyconsciousthatthisisademeritinmeandnotinHamlet；

andyetitwouldnotdomeanygoodtopretendt