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The Classics

In A Tale of Two Cities there is a character, an old man, who spent many years in the Bastille.  Like many others at the time, he had been wrongfully imprisoned during the French Revolution. He had been put there because of who we was, and not what he had done.  It was a time when the uneducated masses revolted against the rich, powerful, educated or privileged few.

 Why am I thinking of him today? I think of his example, because of his behavior after he was released. An educated man, he had learned a simple trade in prison. When trouble entered his life again, the old man would return to his trade. He would shut himself in his room and begin making shoes. It was his way of shutting out the world rather than of dealing with further trauma.

Many people find books dealing with art, history and the sciences to be dry and boring.  Entering into the trials and tribulations of adulthood, they wish for their crayons.  It would be so much easier just to be children again. This is classic human behavior.  During times of stress, our minds shut down and we revert to earlier patterns of behavior.

Being well read and educated, we have a chance to realize our behavior, to understand what we are reacting to. In The Time Machine we are treated to a visit to the future, a time where books are left to crumble into dust and humans are prey to savage sub human creatures.  They are selfish, uneducated and incapable of protecting themselves.

These books are commentaries on society and human nature. Education in psychology, history, the sciences, arts, philosophy and religion help one understand what it is, has been and could be to be human. Never stop reading. But choose wisely. That boring book just might open up a whole new world.

I read today that some of you miss your crayons. As a teen I met a famed Spanish artist. He did my portrait in pastels. I learned to do my art with them. I wouldn't go back to crayons.