Thisisaboutasmuchasthecollege-bredgenerallydooraspiretodo，andtheytakeanEnglishpaperforthepurpose。OnewhohasjustcomefromreadingperhapsoneofthebestEnglishbookswillfindhowmanywithwhomhecanconverseaboutit？OrsupposehecomesfromreadingaGreekorLatinclassicintheoriginal，whosepraisesarefamiliareventotheso-calledilliterate；hewillfindnobodyatalltospeakto，butmustkeepsilenceaboutit。Indeed，thereishardlytheprofessorinourcolleges，who，ifhehasmasteredthedifficultiesofthelanguage，hasproportionallymasteredthedifficultiesofthewitandpoetryofaGreekpoet，andhasanysympathytoimparttothealertandheroicreader；andasforthesacredScriptures，orBiblesofmankind，whointhistowncantellmeeventheirtitles？MostmendonotknowthatanynationbuttheHebrewshavehadascripture。Aman，anyman，willgoconsiderablyoutofhiswaytopickupasilverdollar；butherearegoldenwords，whichthewisestmenofantiquityhaveuttered，andwhoseworththewiseofeverysucceedingagehaveassuredusof；——
andyetwelearntoreadonlyasfarasEasyReading，theprimersandclass-books，andwhenweleaveschool，the“LittleReading，“andstory-books，whichareforboysandbeginners；andourreading，ourconversationandthinking，areallonaverylowlevel，worthyonlyofpygmiesandmanikins。
IaspiretobeacquaintedwithwisermenthanthisourConcordsoilhasproduced，whosenamesarehardlyknownhere。OrshallI
hearthenameofPlatoandneverreadhisbook？AsifPlatoweremytownsmanandIneversawhim——mynextneighborandIneverheardhimspeakorattendedtothewisdomofhiswords。Buthowactuallyisit？HisDialogues，whichcontainwhatwasimmortalinhim，lieonthenextshelf，andyetIneverreadthem。Weareunderbredandlow-livedandilliterate；andinthisrespectIconfessIdonotmakeanyverybroaddistinctionbetweentheilliteratenessofmytownsmanwhocannotreadatallandtheilliteratenessofhimwhohaslearnedtoreadonlywhatisforchildrenandfeebleintellects。
Weshouldbeasgoodastheworthiesofantiquity，butpartlybyfirstknowinghowgoodtheywere。Wearearaceoftit-men，andsoarbutlittlehigherinourintellectualflightsthanthecolumnsofthedailypaper。