Jacques Barzun: Reading is a Steady Extension of One's Life

“If civilization has risen from the Stone Age, it can rise again from the Wastepaper Age.”
― Jacques Barzun

Jacques Barzun (1907–2012) was a French-born American historian, cultural critic, and educator. He was a versatile intellectual whose works spanned various fields, including history, cultural criticism, and education. While he is not primarily known as a literary fiction writer, his writings often incorporated literary themes and analyses.

The following passage is from one of his works titled — Begin Here: The Forgotten Conditions of Teaching and Learning. In this book, Barzun delves into the philosophy of education and the challenges facing modern teaching and learning.

One reviewer from the Washington Post wrote: "It is difficult to imagine a more pungent, perceptive or eloquent commentary on contemporary American education than this collection of 15 pieces by Jacques Barzun."

I hope you enjoy it.

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Reading of course can easily be nothing more than a way to kill time; but if it is calculated and intense, it is a steady extension of one's life.

If life is measured by consciousness, one whose mind is full lives longer than one whose mind is empty — just as one who is awake 18 hours a day lives longer than one who sleeps away every 12 hours.

You can add to life by adding to the quantity of conscious moments through reading.