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A copy of the Illiad [lay] on the table. "You are reading this?" he asked.
"I have read it many times. Now I read it to my son."
"But he is too young!" The man protested, almost angry.
"Is he? Who is to say? How young is too young to begin to discover the power and the beauty of words? Perhaps he will not understand, but there is a clash of shields and a call of trumpets in those lines. One cannot begin too young nor linger too long with learning.
"Homer told his stories accompanied by the lyre, and it was the best way, I think, to tell such stories. Men needed stories to lead them to create, to build, to conquer, even to survive, and without them the human race would have vanished long ago. Men strive for peace, but it is their enemies that give them strength, and I think if man no longer had enemies, he would have to invent them, for his strength only grows from struggle."(p116-117)
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I had learned that one needs moments of quiet, moments of stillness, for both the inner and outer man, a moment of contemplation or even simple emtiness when the stree could ease away and a calmness enter the tissues. Such moments of quiet gave one strenfth, gave one coolness of mind with which to approach the world and its problems. Sometimes but a few minutes were needed.
Long walks can provide this, or horseback rides, reading a different book, or even just sitting. Here, in the pleasant coolness of this galeria, listening to the waters of the fountain, I could gather my forces again, and perhaps reach some conclusions about myself. (p306-307)
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This was the good life, this I could do, ... and perhaps have a little to do in shaping the destiny of our country.
For it is not buildings that make a city, but citizens, and a citizen is not just he who lives in a city, but one who helps it to function as a city. My father had often talked of the town meetings in New England and of the discussions that helped to shape the destinies of cities and states. For this I must prepare myself, for I knew too little of law, too little of governing, too little of the conducting of public meetings.
There is no greater role for a man to play than to assist in the government of a people, nor anyone lower than he who misuses that power. (p 308)
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Changing tracks to President Hinckley now, a prophet of our Heavenly Father:
You need time to meditate and ponder, to think, to wonder at the great plan of happiness that the Lord has outlined for His children. You need to read the scriptures. You need to read good literature. You need to partake of the great culture which is available to all of us.
I heard
President David O. McKay say to the members of the Twelve on one
occasion, “Brethren, we do not spend enough time meditating.”
I believe
that with all my heart. Our lives become extremely busy. We run from one
thing to another. We wear ourselves out in thoughtless pursuit of goals
which are highly ephemeral. We are entitled to spend some time with
ourselves in introspection, in development. I remember my dear father
when he was about the age that I am now. He lived in a home where there
was a rock wall on the grounds. It was a low wall, and when the weather
was warm, he would go and sit on his wall. It seemed to me he sat there
for hours, thinking, meditating, pondering things that he would say and
write, for he was a very gifted speaker and writer. He read much, even
into his very old age. He never ceased growing. Life was for him a great
adventure in thinking.
Your needs and your tastes along these lines will vary with your age. But all of us need some of it.
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It seems that Louis L'Amour had a great deal figured out correctly.
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