History, in its best aspect, is but diffused biography, because it is
man that has made events, not events that have made man. Biography,
on the other hand, is history condensed and incarnated in a repre-
THE LIBRARY IN THE HOME. I3I
sentative maker of it. No reading is more healthy than that of
first-class biography. " \Vhat man has done, man can do," says the
proverb, and biography best teaches us what man has done. Long-
fellow puts this truly in very simple verse :
" Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime;
And departing leave behind us
Footprints in the sands of time."
But as " they also serve who only stand and wait," so it is not
necessary to go to the wars in order to do service as a good soldier
in the battle of life. Every human being has some influence upon
others, and in using this influence for good we write a good
biography of ourselves.
In selecting works of biography for a home library the names of
Washington, Franklin and others connected with the rise of the
Republic will occur to every one. Of the life of Shakspeare very
little is known, but we should know that little. Milton's life is one
pf the most instructive. One should read it in connection with that
of Oliver Cromwell, whose Secretary Milton was, and with the
history of Charles the First, the Commonwealth and the Restoration.
To know a man we must know his surroundings, and the times in
which he lived. Boswell's " Life of Johnson " will never be out of
date for family reading. It can be laid down and taken up without
a break in the interest. And this reminds us that Dr. Johnson had
that intuitive power which only few possess of getting the cream of
a book by instant apprehension and attention. Some people may
read a book through and then know very little about it, while others
understand and comprehend its meaning and merits at a glance.
Some books are good to dip into, but not to .spend many hours upon.
Others should be referred to again and again, and read through more
than once. A good biographical encyclopaedia brought down to our
own time should be in every home library. When we hear or read
of some great act or work achieved in art or science we wish at once
to know who the man was and what stock he came from.
132 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
One of the most delightful kinds of family reading is that of such
essays as can be read aloud, chatted about and finished at a sitting.
Macaulay's are too long and critical for this ; they must be studied
alone. But William Hazlitt, Emerson, and Boyd, and even Froude's
" Short Studies on Great Subjects," are good company for
social evening reading. It is not easy to recommend special
books in biography or essays, without a personal knowledge
of the character, tastes and ambition of those who need such
guidance. Sex as well as age has to be considered, for while the
majority of good books are suited to both sexes alike, boys and
girls have each a special literature of their own. Both will de-
light and find profit in the lives of those who have overcome diffi-
culties, attained their object by perseverance and self-denial, and
been a blessing to others. But the boy will naturally have a heroic,
the girl a domestic taste.
Page 80
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
History, in its best aspect, is but diffused biography, because it is man that has made events, not events that have made man. Biography, on the other hand, is history condensed and incarnated in a repre-
sentative maker of it. No reading is more healthy than that of first-class biography. "What man has done, man can do,"" says the proverb, and biography best teaches us what man has done. Longfellow puts this truly in very simple verse :
" Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime; And departing leave behind us Footprints in the sands of time."
But as " they also serve who only stand and wait," so it is not necessary to go to the wars in order to do service as a good soldier in the battle of life. Every human being has some influence upon others, and in using this influence for good we write a good biography of ourselves.
In selecting works of biography for a home library the names of Washington, Franklin and others connected with the rise of the Republic will occur to every one. Of the life of Shakspeare very little is known, but we should know that little. Milton's life is one of the most instructive. One should read it in connection with that of Oliver Cromwell, whose Secretary Milton was, and with the history of Charles the First, the Commonwealth and the Restoration. To know a man we must know his surroundings, and the times in which he lived. Boswell's " Life of Johnson " will never be out of date for family reading. It can be laid down and taken up without a break in the interest. And this reminds us that Dr. Johnson had that intuitive power which only few possess of getting the cream of a book by instant apprehension and attention. Some people may read a book through and then know very little about it, while others understand and comprehend its meaning and merits at a glance. Some books are good to dip into, but not to .spend many hours upon. Others should be referred to again and again, and read through more than once. A good biographical encyclopaedia brought down to our own time should be in every home library. When we hear or read of some great act or work achieved in art or science we wish at once to know who the man was and what stock he came from.
132 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
One of the most delightful kinds of family reading is that of such essays as can be read aloud, chatted about and finished at a sitting. Macaulay's are too long and critical for this ; they must be studied alone. But William Hazlitt, Emerson, and Boyd, and even Froude's " Short Studies on Great Subjects," are good company for social evening reading. It is not easy to recommend special books in biography or essays, without a personal knowledge of the character, tastes and ambition of those who need such guidance. Sex as well as age has to be considered, for while the majority of good books are suited to both sexes alike, boys and girls have each a special literature of their own. Both will delight and find profit in the lives of those who have overcome difficulties, attained their object by perseverance and self-denial, and been a blessing to others. But the boy will naturally have a heroic, the girl a domestic taste.