An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Vol. 1 - nouveau livre

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: SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING READING And STUDY FOR A GENTLEMAN. SOM TflOUGHTS CONCERNINO READING And STUDY FOR A GENTLEMAN. READING is for the improvement of the understanding. The improvement of the understanding is for two ends; first, for our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver and make out that knowledge to others. The latter of these, if it be not the chief end of study in a gentleman; yet it is at least equal to the other, since the greatest part of his business and usefulness in the world is by the influence of what he says, or writes to. others. The extent of our knowledge cannot exceed the extent of our ideas. Therefore he, who would be universally knowing, must acquaint himself with the objects of all sciences. 13ut this is not necessary to a gentleman, whose proper calling is the service of his country; and so is .most properly concerned in moral and political knowledge; and thus the studies, which more immediately belong to his calling, are those which treat of virtues and vices, of civil society, and the arts of government; and will take in also law and history. . . It is enough for a gentleman to be furnished with the ideas belonging to his calling, which he will find ia the books that treat .of the matters above-mentioned.; D d 3' But But the next step towards the improvement of his understanding, must be, to observe the connexion of these ideas in the propositions, which those books hold forth, and pretend to teach as truths'; which till a man can judge, whether they be truths or no, his understanding is but little improved; and he doth but think and talk after the books that he hath read, without having any knowledge thereby. And thus men of much reading are greatly learned, but may b...