“ Reading list (1972 edition)[edit]1. Homer – Iliad, Odyssey2. The Old Testament3. Aeschylus – Tragedies4. Sophocles – Tragedies5. Herodotus – Histories6. Euripides – Tragedies7. Thucydides – History of… Mortimer J. Adler
“ If your friend wishes to read your 'Plutarch's Lives,' 'Shakespeare,' or 'The Federalist Papers,' tell him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat - but your books ar… Mortimer J. Adler
“ In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you. Mortimer J. Adler
“ 76. David Hume – Treatise on Human Nature; Essays Moral and Political; An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding77. Jean-Jacques Rousseau – On the Origin of Inequality; On the Political Economy; Emile… Mortimer J. Adler
“ You must be able to say "I understand," before you can say "I agree," or "I disagree," or "I suspend judgment. Mortimer J. Adler
“ There are genuine mysteries in the world that mark the limits of human knowing and thinking. Wisdom is fortified, not destroyed, by understanding its limitations. Ignorance does not make a fool as sur… Mortimer J. Adler
“ The trouble is that many people regard disagreement as unrelated to either teaching or being taught. They think that everything is just a matter of opinion. I have mine, and you have yours; and our ri… Mortimer J. Adler
“ ... always keep in mind that an article of faith is not something that the faithful assume. Faith, for those who have it, is the most certain form of knowledge, not a tentative opinion. Mortimer J. Adler
“ We are not told, or not told early enough so that it sinks in, that mathematics is a language, and that we can learn it like any other, including our own. We have to learn our own language twice, firs… Mortimer J. Adler
“ The reader tries to uncover the skeleton that the book conceals. The author starts with the skeleton and tries to cover it up. His aim is to conceal the skeleton artistically or, in other words, to pu… Mortimer J. Adler
“ Enlightenment is achieved only when, in addition to knowing what an author says, you know what he means and why he says it. Mortimer J. Adler
“ ... a practical problem can only be solved by action itself. When your practical problem is how to earn a living, a book on how to make friends and influence people cannot solve it, though it may sugg… Mortimer J. Adler
“ Mathematics is one of the major modern mysteries. Perhaps it is the leading one, occupying a place in our society similar to the religious mysteries of another age. If we want to know something about… Mortimer J. Adler
“ What reaches the heart without going through the mind is likely to bounce back and put the mind out of business. Mortimer J. Adler
“ Most of us are addicted to non-active reading. The outstanding fault of the non-active or undemanding reader is his inattention to words, and his consequent failure to come to terms with the author. Mortimer J. Adler
