# Read to see life

By [raindrop](https://paragraph.com/@raindrop-2) · 2022-09-08

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1b04abe3e4cede178e5c76736b6eb55326c16f16e7fc72135226eed5c3545597.png)

How great would it be if you could buy time to read while you were buying books! However, people often confuse buying books and reading to learn, two completely different behaviors.

  

Expecting a man to remember everything he has read is like asking him to keep everything he has eaten in his stomach. Food nourished his body and books filled his spirit, both of which made him who he was. But just as the body absorbs only what it can digest, so a man can only remember what interests him, that is, what is in line with his general thoughts or goals of interest.

  

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/093682ead479ff354cd54e3f263a38238e41cab431c9daa763125ac60d9ff14b.png)

"Review is the mother of learning." Any important book should be read twice in a row. This is because on the second reading, we can better grasp the overall content of the book - knowing the end, we can really understand the beginning; on the other hand, when we read it again, we may have a different state of mind, and thus get different impressions from the book—like appreciating the same object in different light.

  

Every work is the quintessence of a man's mind, so it's better to read a man's work than to associate with him, even if he has the greatest mind. Even what is written by an ordinary man may be instructive or entertaining, and worth reading—for these are the quintessence of his thoughts, the fruit of all his thinking and research; and in his dealings with himself, it may be the case that Unsatisfactory. It is possible to enjoy reading the book and not be dissatisfied with the person. When the cultivation of ideology and culture reaches a certain height, one can only find recreation and entertainment from books, rather than seeking pleasure from people.

  

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4cef251fc3bf3b00cb07140e5670ff8b9a0e09dd304922eda31593956afa14c9.png)

Nothing purifies our hearts like an old classic. Just pick up a classic, even if you only read it for half an hour, you will feel that your whole body is refreshed, your body and mind are comfortable and clear, your spirit is detached and invigorated, as if you have been cleaned by a mountain spring. Is it because of the perfect character of ancient languages, or because of the greatness of the minds of those writers whose works have survived thousands of years? Maybe both. But I know that as soon as we give up learning an ancient language (and there is a tendency to do so now), a new kind of literature emerges, one that is superficial, crude, worthless and beautiful.

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*Originally published on [raindrop](https://paragraph.com/@raindrop-2/read-to-see-life)*