luminous in their relation to one
another, and freshens and stimulates
by bringing us into contact with
ideas and with life.

To get at the heart of books we
must live with and in them; we
must make them our constant com-
panions; we must turn them over
and over in thought, slowly pene-
trating their innermost meaning;
and when we possess their thought
we must work it into our own
thought. The reading of a real
book ought to be an event in one's
history; it ought to enlarge the
vision, deepen the base of convic-
tion, and add to the reader what-
ever knowledge, insight, beauty, and
power it contains. It is possible to
spend years of study on what may
be called the externals of the "Divine
Comedy," and remain unaffected in

[[39]]

p038 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p039w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p040

v?