Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), one of the greatest essayists, has given shape to the readers in his famous speech ‘The American Scholar.’ For Emerson, reading is not an end in itself. Collecting information for its own sake is not the ultimate goal.
More Notes: Emerson
Emerson guides how to make reading a creative activity for scholars. He says, “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst.” For proper use of the book, the scholar should make it a point that he should draw inspiration from it.
The only valuable thing in the world is the active soul, and the Scholar must have a vibrant soul. He should not allow himself to be the slave of ideas contained in books. The dynamic soul sees the truth, speaks the truth, and also creates reality. The Scholar should use books during his idle times only. When he is busy, he should read God directly and not waste his valuable time reading what others have written. Books are indeed a source of great pleasure and wisdom. But, for the Scholar, it would be wrong to spend all his time reading books. Creative reading should involve the Scholar in reading only those portions of books that are relevant for his age.
More Notes: The American Scholar
In termination, the best rule of reading would be a method of nature, not a mechanical one of hours and pages. It keeps students engaged in pursuing their native goals rather than an unpleasant miscellaneous subject.
