XVI
KINDS OF THINKING
“What we want is not the example of Democritus, who put out his eyes that, ceasing to read, he might think the more; or the example of Pythagoras, who devoted his evenings to solemn reflections on the events of the day. We want men and women of all-round activities who will set apart an hour for thought’s own sake, and thus fulfil the exhortation of a wise man whose practice it was to ‘sort his thoughts and label them.’”
T. S. Knowlson.
“People read a great deal more than they used to do,—there is more to be read,—but they think less. The chief danger of to-day is that of intellectual apathy. Life is so complex, the struggle for existence is so keen, and pleasures of various kinds so cheap and abundant, that men and women seem to live entirely on the surface of things. What we need is a call to independent thought.”
Ibid.