QotD: Old books

"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

"Random Thoughts"

Thomas Sowell is an aging economist with a mind as incisive as a laser beam. Once a month or so he pens a column titled "Random Thoughts" wherein the first line always fleshes out the thoughts as being upon "the passing scene." He pens a sentence or two on a wide array of topics from Brahms to bailouts and history to histrionics and then moves on. His pen points at the President and Iran today among other things.

Savor some classic Sowell here.

Adjacent to Sowell this evening on Townhall.com sits an article by the man of a thousand jokes, Chuck Norris, though I first read his piece at HumanEvents.com. He has the audacity to write about Jesus during Holy Week. Harumph! It's sure to delight your soul...unless of course you're a liberal or a member of the ACLU, but I repeat myself.

Check out Mr. Norris' latest here.