"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 its hidden implications (often unsuspected by the author himself) have to be brought to light...
"...It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones."
C.S. Lewis
In his introduction to "On the Incarnation" by Athanasius
In his introduction to "On the Incarnation" by Athanasius
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1 comment:
That is so right. I like the point about reading older writings since they have been tried. We need better writers and better articles. I think I will try to read one old one for every three new or just, at the very least, read more old ones.
Thanks for this post.
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