On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books

by Karen Swallow Prior

Because the world since the fall contains both good and evil, Milton says, virtue consists of choosing good over evil. Milton distinguishes between the innocent, who know no evil, and the virtuous, who know what evil is and elect to do good. What better way to learn the difference between evil and good, Milton argues, than to gain knowledge of both through reading widely: “Since therefore the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so necessary to the constituting of human virtue, and the scanning of error to the confirmation of truth, how can we more safely, and with less danger, scout into the regions of sin and falsity than by reading all manner of tractates and hearing all manner of reason? And this is the benefit which may be had of books promiscuously read.”1 But it is not enough to read widely. One must also read well. One must read virtuously. The word virtue has various shades of meaning (many of which will unfold in the pages of this book), but in general, virtue can most simply be understood as excellence. Reading well is, in itself, an act of virtue, or excellence, and it is also a habit that cultivates more virtue in return.

Reading well begins with understanding the words on the page. In nearly three decades of teaching literature, I’ve noticed that many readers have been conditioned to jump so quickly to interpretation and evaluation that they often skip the fundamental but essential task of comprehending what the words actually mean.

Prudence “transforms knowledge of reality into realization of the good.”41 But in the real world, what is good is what is practical, even if it falls short of ideal.42 In other words, as the saying goes, the enemy of the good is the best. If only the ideal will do, the good will likely never be realized. Perfectionism is the foil of prudence.

within the public square. Such controversies attest

Lauren Winner explains, “The community is not so much cop as it is storyteller, telling and retelling the foundational stories that make sense of the community’s norms.”48 Marriage is not only about mutual companionship and romantic love, but it is the institution “out of which cultures and societies are formed.”49

The virtue of kindness simply cannot be separated from truth.