Lewis Lapham opens the latest issue of his Quarterly (Ways of Learning) with one of my favorite quotes:
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled by a fire to be kindled." (Plutarch)
This rather less poetic translation was the closest I could find:
"The correct analogy for the mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting -- no more -- and then it motivates one towards originality and instills the desire for truth." ("On Listening," from Robin Waterfield's 1992 translation in Plutarch: Essays, p. 50)
As always, I come away from each issue of LQ with a list of essays and books that I either haven't yet read or am inspired to re-read; this issue is no exception. My list this time includes Frederick Douglass (Life and Times of Frederick Douglass), Helen Keller (The Story of My Life), and Seneca (Letter LXXXVIII, Letters from a Stoic, pp. 151-4)
So many books...
At $15 per issue, it's a bit pricey...but worth it! (At least I think so, and I hope you do also.)
You might want to flip through an issue while sitting down in your bookstore's coffee-shop, but don't be surprised if you're still reading when your grande is long gone.
I'd never heard of this quarterly before but it looks great! I'm going to have to subscribe! Thanks!