Jollyblogger posts C.S. Lewis’s Introduction to Athanasius on the Incarnation.
It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.
Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.
This relates to my post last week on what characteristics make a book a classic. I said, and C.S. Lewis would agree with me, probably because I unconsciously stole the idea from him:
So insofar as we can recognize and appreciate Truth, we can evaluate literature and perhaps foresee what will stand the test of time. Insofar as we are blinded and have our own pet truths that do not line up with Real Truth, we will praise the poorly written potboiler and scorn the book that reveals our own inadequacies.
So what OLD books (100 years +) have you read lately? I must admit I haven’t really read anything that old lately. Engineer Husband and I are reading Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Genesis, a few paragraphs each night. Oh, and I’m reading Milton for my British Literature class. Does that count?
Go here to read Athanasius on the Incarnation in its entirety, including the introduction by Lewis, courtesty of Phil Johnson of Pyromaniac. The Pyromaniac himself is out setting fires somewhere and plans to be back in a week or two. But Athanasius is older anyway.
Ack! You’ve scooped me, durnit.
I wrote a post on this very subject yesterday, linking to the Jollyblogger post and everything, but post-dated it to appear later in the week at Mysterium Tremendum.
Stop doing that.
😉