A good friend of mine recently asked a very thought
provoking question. She wondered, “What five books, outside of your religious
book, would you take if you had to pack up and leave home?”
My wife and I got excited about
the challenge and got into a discussion that lasted three days.
Through this dialogue we realized
what was happening: we were defining what a “classic” meant for our family. We have
a long list of classic books that we love, have learned from, and would like to
take with us, but being limited to five pushed us to refine our answer of what
a classic really is for us.
Simply put, a classic is something you can read over and
over again and learn from it every time. There at least two different types of
classics: personal classics and cultural classics.
Personal classics are subject to personal opinion—anything could
be a classic to anyone, really. A cultural classic generally rises when many
people consider it a classic. Thus the Harvard Classics, the Great Books set,
the Thomas Jefferson Education classics list, and many other collections of
some of the greatest works from history. Cultural classics are works that pass
the taste of time, when generation after generation read and re-read these
works and still pass them on to their children.
What are the great classics in your family culture? Your
nation’s culture? Your religious culture? These are powerful questions to think
about, discuss, and answer. I’d love to share in your thoughts and discuss what
the core cultural classics are for your country in the comments below.
Consider the impact and widespread influence of the writings
of Aristotle, Shakespeare, Homer, the Bible, and other such works. How many
lives have they impacted over centuries and millennia? This is incredible to me!
That is serious influence.
To fulfill this little project, Emma
and I had to separate those classics that are good from the truly great.
We wanted the best classics for
our family and the coming generations.
We realized as we discussed some
of the most influential classics, that we need the greatest and best classics
for us. That meant that we need to
share what is ours. It doesn’t need
to be the most “classically acclaimed,” but it does need to be something that we
care about deeply. It needs to be something we get excited and passionate
about, something that we deeply connect with.
A classic like this will naturally
instill a passion for the love of learning in all those we come in contact
with. We realized we must take the classics that are a part of us because we
would be able to inspire those around us to use these classics and make them a
part of who they are as well.
When you’re excited and passionate
about something, those around you can’t help but gain some interest or
curiosity (if not fall head over heels in love) with the subject. This is a
powerful thing, the power of love. This is key to a great education, a great
society, and great success: share your love for what is yours.
Think of a book that is considered
a classic that you’ve tried to read but just had a hard time engaging. Such a
book would be hard to get excited about and share with others. I wouldn’t pick
Galileo’s Two New Sciences over
Euclid’s Elements, because I get
excited over studying Euclid but didn’t have the same experience with Galileo.
Maybe I could end up falling in
love with Galileo’s works as much as Euclid’s if that’s the book I had, but if
I had the choice I wouldn’t want to risk it on something I didn’t already
deeply care about. Being able to instill a love of learning and thinking in
others is much more valuable to me than taking something that is considered a
“better classic” by others.
What are your top five books that
you couldn’t help but share?
I’ll share what Emma and I came up with. We ended up making
two book lists. The first is if we are pioneering somewhere and so our book
options are limited for a time, but not forever. The second list is if there is
a great disaster and the likelihood of ever getting more books is slim. We
discussed these two scenarios and decided we would have different needs and a
different focus depending on the availability of more classics. We chose the
scriptures for both lists, these five books are in addition the scriptures.
Our first book list:
The United
States Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom by
Oliver DeMille
We picked this one for its invaluable list of
principles needed for founding a great, free, and successful society. Also how
it teaches and directs the reader to think, analyze, discuss, and read is a
powerful teaching tool.
2.
Jane Austen’s Complete Works
Austen shows the principles of freedom, merit, and
character in action. It doesn’t talk about the importance but shows the importance in action. They are
brilliant stories that depict manners, morals, and grace.
3.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare
The entertainment value of Shakespeare provides for
some spice and great community productions. Memorizing the stories and lines
strengthens the mind, the depth of characters teach powerful life lessons, and
the breadth of ideas covered supply ample opportunity for study and discussion.
4.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
This series gives a variety of styles and types of
books for a different flavor. We decided on this set to stand as a reminder, a
warning, and a call for greatness, mission, and paying the price for freedom.
We must found a new society that will guard against such tyrannical rule. This
supports many similar themes from Shakespeare, Austen, and 196 by DeMille.
5.
Herbalist Book of Home Remedies
Founding a new society we must work as a community, and
it requires a lot of self-sustainability. Having a great reference book of
different helpful plants could be the tipping point of our success or demise.
Let’s stack as many odds in our favor as we can!
Our second book list is as follows
(the first three are the same as before):
1.
The United
States Constitution and the 196 Indispensable Principles of Freedom by
Oliver DeMille
2.
Jane Austen’s Complete Works
3.
The Complete Works of Shakespeare
4.
The Complete Works of C.S. Lewis
We have been greatly moved by Lewis’ works. His insights, questions,
principles, and styles of teaching are powerful. We have a very close
relationship with Lewis and would be able to pass on a great passion for
learning through his works.
5.
Democracy
in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
This book shows what the American
Founding society looked like. And the type of people that produced one of the
greatest nations in the world is analyzed and described in this great work.
This is another book that Emma and I feel passionate about, a book with which
we could spread the love of learning and freedom.
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