Macaulay's Essay on Addison Author:Thomas Babington Macaulay Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STUDENT Beading to be profitable must be careful and intelligent. The careless and hasty reader not only fails to gain the knowledge and c... more »ulture which are the legitimate products of all reading, but even dissipates his intellectual energies, and eventually destroys his ability to appreciate good literature. That method of reading only is intelligent which leads to a clear comprehension of the author's spirit and intent; and its necessary conditions are a knowledge of his style and vocabulary and such a warm interest in the development of his line of thought and investigation as will serve for an inspiration to a careful and earnest study of his works. Much that is written in literary form is not worth the reading, but no true work of literature will ever fail to repay the student for his labor upon it. The wise selection of a course of reading is therefore a matter of the highest importance; yet there are so many prepared lists and helpful suggestions which are easily accessible that no earnest student need go astray. Before beginning the study of an author it is well to learn something about his character and the position which he occupies in the literary history of his age. Oftentimes a knowledge of his personal life will lead to a better comprehension of his works. Such study should not be minute, and must be taken up not merely to satisfy curiosity, but with the sustained purpose of ascertaining, as far as possible, the sources of his inspiration and the general character and trend of his thought. Many authors who are thought to be obscure by the general reader are so only because their spirit and motives are not understood, and therefore their literary productions seem illogical, and sometimes almost or quite meaningless. Browning, who is one o...« less