Chapter 8 The joy of lying down and reading (2)

Another celebrity who is also accustomed to reading while walking on the road is Dr. Johnson [Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), British writer and lexicographer. ], a true spectacle he staged has been recorded.His short-sightedness forced him to hold the book close to his nose, and he walked slowly, not like walking, lifting his feet high when he encountered a shadow, and he was stunned by branches and stones. tripped over. However, the one who is enough to explain a person's reading habits and is the most interesting may be Professor Posen, a Greek scientist [Richard Posen (1759-1808), a famous British classical scholar. 】s story.This classic tale of human knowledge takes place during a journey.At that time, there was a dandy who was riding in the same stage coach with Professor Posen. He said that he would quote ancient documents in an attempt to show off his so-called knowledge.Finally, Old Posen spoke:

"May I ask where this phrase comes from, sir?" "Sophocles," replied the pompous fellow. "In that case, can you find it for me?" asked Posen, drawing a volume of Sophocles from his pocket. The dandy said, without ambiguity or embarrassment, that he meant not Sophocles but Euripides.So Posen pulled a volume of Euripides from the other pocket and asked the pretentious fellow to find the source of the quotation.Then the boy panicked, stuck his head out of the window, and shouted at the coachman: "For heaven's sake, let me down. Here's an old gentleman with a Bodrien library in his pocket."

Posen himself was a servant to the habit of reclining.When he lay down, he piled the books all about him, then lit his pipe, and began with the volume he liked best.He always had a jug of wine close at hand - Posen was a notorious drinker. It is said that on one occasion Posen fell asleep while reading, and the pipe fell from his mouth, igniting the fabric of the bed, which would have happened to the drunken professor if the rescuers had not arrived in time. was cremated. Another sloppy fellow was De Quincey [Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859), English essayist and literary critic. ], he is also a reading lover.But when it came to the care and use of books, De Quincey was a complete savage.He borrowed books and never returned them.In order to save his labor or avoid the trouble of excerpting, he destroys rare and rare books, and he will never show mercy.

However, it is probably Lady Charles Elstable, ward and nun of Canterbury Cathedral (c. 1700), who has brought notoriety to "lying reading".According to Law Morris's "On Type Foundry", she was an Oxford scholar who was always "critical" of the research work of her colleagues.Morris said she was the daughter of an old and wealthy family in the North, "but she was obsessed with a narcotic called 'knowledge,' which made her oblivious to everything else necessary. Later, she Became a governess to the Duke of Portland, and we visited her in her bedroom at Bulstrode, all surrounded by books and filth, is this the appendage of intellectuals!"

Another word that Cicero uses—I'm afraid I'll say a little more about that passage in the Vindication of the Poet Alzias—is "retirement to the country," which shows that as early as two thousand years ago Civilized people are used to taking books to read in the countryside in summer. "Accompany us to retreat to the countryside and roam the forests," Cicero said.He presents us with a pen-and-ink drawing of a Roman aristocrat lounging on the cool grass under a tree, carefully reading a newly popular legend; , his aristocratic wife wandered slowly to and fro, carefully studying the pages and color plates of the latest fashion magazine.It may be said that it was entirely on the telltale word "retire to the country" that you, me, and all others found a fine precedent and a great deal of encouragement to get us used to going off to the Our summer retreat.

As for myself, I would never go on a journey without a large case of books.My experience has taught me that there are no better companions than these brothers, who are always the same in spite of all the changes in the world;My sister, Miss Susan, has often lashed out at me for this habit.Just yesterday, she told me: I am the most annoying man in the whole world. However, for Miss Susan, whose experience of men was so limited between the midsummer of sixty-seven and the midwinter of sixty-eight, I thought I should put up with her criticism and There can be no complaints.Miss Susan really is the kindest person in the whole world.It was her misfortune that she had devoted her whole life to one mad passion, the incessant collection of pots, old pewter, old brass, old glass, and old furniture, and other miscellaneous things of that sort.I really don't have much sympathy for such a passion.I really don't understand why Miss Susan should be more proud of her collection of rubbish than she is of the fact that she is a spinster.

The latter property always manifests itself wherever possible.I think back to that unpleasant scene on the bus last winter.At that time, the flattering conductor called my sister "Madam" respectfully because of her pale hair on her head and the many wrinkles on her cheeks.I want you to know that right away my sister warned the guy very quickly and in very high-pitched English (with emphasis on her blue silk umbrella): she is Miss Susan and, under no circumstances, intends to be any man's wife.