Titled “15 Minutes A Day,” the book some call an “introduction” is really a compendium of advertising materials about who should study classical literature (hint: anybody who wants to learn how to think); why to study, how to do it, and what classics will form the basis of a classical liberal education (classical liberal = open and free, not screeching blue-haired communist) that will serve the reader well to think critically and solve any problem. It’s Dr. Eliot’s sales-pitch about why you should spend the next year or so of your life reading his collection of classic books.
One must remember that when Dr. Eliot first published his 5-foot shelf of books in 1909, communism had not yet invaded our institutions of higher learning, but it had begun to spread like a wildfire in Europe.
“The sentiments and opinions these authors express are frequently not acceptable to present-day readers, who have to be often saying to themselves : “This is not true, or not correct, or not in accordance with our beliefs.” It is, however, precisely this encounter with the merital [archaic: of merit] states of other generations which enlarges the outlook and sympathies of the cultivated man, and persuades him of the upward tendency of the human race.”
The goal of a classical liberal education is to share knowledge, because only a citizenry that can think for itself can form the backbone of a democratic Republic.
“Liberal education accomplishes two objects. It produces a liberal frame of mind and it makes the studious and reflective recipient acquainted with the stream of the world’s thought and feeling, and with the infinitely varied products of the human imagination.”
Although it isn’t necessary to read the advertising literature before jumping into the Harvard Classics, I found Dr. Eliot’s introduction–specifically why he wrote it–to be quite relatable. He sounds like the kind of person I’d enjoy sitting down with, over hors d’oeuvres and a glass of wine, to play Dungeons and Dragons while watching him compare the beasts in the game to a Homerian epic.
You can download the pamphlet HERE:
DOWNLOAD the EBOOK: download in .epub, .mobi, or .pdf:
https://archive.org/details/harvardclassicsh00unse/page/2/mode/2up
Post-reading notes: this little “sales” pamphlet is a nice little motivation to excite you about reading the 5-foot shelf of books. However, it was also a bit redundant. Read one or two, and then come back to it if you feel your resolve lagging.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:
LECTURE VIDEO: “The Five Foot Shelf: How an Engineer Can Love the Classics” by Aaron Prazan (32:35 min) – https://tv.gab.com/channel/anna_erishkigal/view/harvard-classics-volume-00-introduction-the-6085c40cbd1177b446e0b9c4
LECTURE VIDEO: “Why to Study the Classics” by Tim McGee (10:11 min) – https://tv.gab.com/channel/anna_erishkigal/view/harvard-classics-volume-00-introduction-why-6085c949929a418a1d33e56b