"Indeed how could exile be an obstacle to a person's own cultivation? Or to attaining virtue when no one has ever been cut off from learning or practicing what is needed by exile?" (Musonius Rufus, Lectures, 9.37, 39)
Is one bettered by what sits on one's shelf, or by what one reads?
Having invested so much time, money and space to the collection of so many books (and there are fewer in possession now than in time past), one wonders how many are for the sake of personal vanity and not personal cultivation.
A person may not necessarily read a title but having it close it hand "for reference" brings a level of personal comfort--but when will that time come? And if that time never comes, then what is the purpose of collecting the title?
Ever walk into an office and see a collection of books on a side table and notice how out out of place those books seem? Why does an insurance office have a embossed copies of "Moby Dick" and "Jane Eyre" and a Reader's Digest Condensed Book series? For looks. That's all. To make one feel "at home." Which brings us back to the house: some people collect books for looks. Visiting a friend a few months ago I noticed a couple of classic books of poetry on his shelf and commented on them. Giving them to me he said, "nobody reads these--they are for looks."
People chose books to set a stage--this title or that author looks good on display--which becomes a display to the vanity of both author and collector. But so many books are trash. Blocks of paper crammed with formulaic story--only the names and places are different. It's not humanly possible to write as many books as associated with many author's names. It's all about money.
Should everything around me burn or a flood come and sweep it all away--what titles would I miss and which would I forget? If I were able to save a handful during a time of some tragic or personal exile, which titles would I save? As many as I could carry? One book above all else? Does it even matter in an age of electronic media?
This year I started an experiment that (so far) seems to have gone quite well: I've been reading only four books--and I am confident these four are all I would need--which leads to the temptation to sweep all the rest away! These last 8 months I've found the counsel of mentors I've always desired in these writings.
There are no obstacles to one's own personal cultivation save those which one imposes on himself. If one does not become a life-long learner, the fault is his own.
