Ever
since members of early civilizations used simple hieroglyphics to communicate
their thoughts, hopes and aspirations, there has been a close connection
between reading and refinement. For this purpose, the terms 'refinement' must
be extended to include far more than 'good manners' -- otherwise, the only
reading necessary to produce he 'refined' person would be a book on etiquette !
Refinement, however, really implies culture and civilization in the widest
sense, a combination of those qualities which differentiate man from the animal
world, and it is the bearing of reading on the development of these qualities
which we must examine.
A high standard of personal morality and
unselfishness is cultured man's first characteristic. This, he largely owes to
the books of his religion, whether it be the Christian Bible, the Muslim Koran,
the Hindu Upanishads, the Philosophy of Buddha or Confucius. Such books teach
him the meaning of family life and virtues of honesty, peaceful living and
integrity. But, the best of secular literature helps him to achieve the same
object. The innocence of Ophelia, the nobility of Sydney carton cannot fail to
impress and attract the reader.
Greek tragedy was intended to induce in the
audience a 'Catharsis,' or purging of the emotions, primarily those of 'pity
and terror'. But the general reader finds that all good literature has a
salutary effect on the emotional side of his nature. Great emotional pleasure
may be derived from a good novel, as we enter fully into the life of the hero
or heroine, an the best of writing, whether it takes the form of poetry, drama,
or the novel has an undoubtedly maturing effect on our emotional nature.
For most people, however, the 'refined' person
is the 'educated' person, the person whose intellect has been developed through
reading intelligent books. The clear, logical thinker owes much to his
grounding in the school-room, and even more to the love of reading which this
grounding has fostered. Reading becomes a stimulating function of adult life,
and ceases to be a child's tool for passing an examination or getting a job.
Cultured living requires that people should be
'well-informed,' and wide reading has the added advantage of imparting useful
general knowledge. Thus, the well-read man or woman is more fitted to live in
the community and travel, profitably, outside it. Such knowledge is obtained
from a variety of sources ranging from the newspaper and magazine to the many
available volumes of specialized non-fiction books.
An added benefit of good reading is the
development of a love of language for its own sake. Style, imagery and
figurative language, the 'atmosphere of prose and poetry, its emotional
intensity and its intellectual content-all these things inculcate a love of
beauty, the mark of a truly civilized person.
No reader of good literature can fail to be
influenced by the attitudes to life to members of the family, to the community
and to the nation which it contains. He constantly checks his own philosophy
against what eh finds, and in analyzing it, refines it. we do not necessarily
try to behave like people in books, but at least we can learn from them.
Sometimes, however, we rightly desire to model
our lives on those of great men and women, in so far as we can, and in this
connection, the importance of reading biographies cannot be over-estimated. it
is a poor scientist who does not emulate the achievements of a Michael-Angelo
or an Einstein, it is a poor nurse who does not admire the forcefulness and
devotion of Florence Nightingale.
Today, we live in a cosmopolitan community,
which has become sophisticated and matured by the admixture of foreigners, with
their own languages, ways of life and special gifts. Furthermore, few of us
nowadays, spend all our live sin our own small village or town. And so, it
becomes increasingly important to know about other countries, other people. To
know about other countries, other people. To know something about them from
books, perhaps to learn their languages, at once smoothes the path to
friendship, and it is a characteristic of a refined person to wish to make
friends with other nationals -- not to regard them suspiciously as 'foreign
devils.'
The refined person is the mentally disciplined
person -- the person who demands a full and intellectually satisfying life.
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