"The Decline and Fall" is not to be named in the same day with
"Paradise Lost," but it is a vastly pretty thing; and Herbert
Spencer's "First Principles" simply laughs at the claims of poetry
and refuses to be accepted as aught but the most majestic product of
any human mind. I do not suggest that either of these works is
suitable for a tyro in mental strains. But I see no reason why any
man of average intelligence should not, after a year of continuous
reading, be fit to assault the supreme masterpieces of history or
philosophy. The great convenience of masterpieces is that they are
so astonishingly lucid.
I suggest no particular work as a start. The attempt would be
futile in the space of my command. But I have two general
suggestions of a certain importance. The first is to define the
direction and scope of your efforts. Choose a limited period, or a
limited subject, or a single author. Say to yourself: "I will know
something about the French Revolution, or the rise of railways, or
the works of John Keats." And during a given period, to be settled
beforehand, confine yourself to your choice.
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