1923-05-02 — Page 2

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THE HONOKONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND, 1998.

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TWENTY BEST BOOKS.

{BY MAURICE

13:

HEWLETT, IN JOHN LONDON'S WERKLX."]

o'

The heart's desire of Chaucer's Clerk of Oxenford exercised me in my, bod this morning, as I lay in that state between sleeping and waking whan thought is effortless, and expression of it seems a Lucchanical process. Unbidden it comes, and so departs, unrecorded and nolament. el. However, the Clerk of Oxenford

stayed by mo

For hym was levere have at his

bedde's head Twenty book en in black or

mi. Than robes riche, or athele, or gay

santrie

....

I am entirely of his opinion. Robés richu wear out; besides, you wear thera for reasons to which I am no longer open, I cannot play the fitkele, and in my hands the sufrie would cease to bo gay. But twenty books for my whole outfit! Could I get on with only so many, and what, or which, would they be? A for my bed's head, it hus not one; and if it had I don't know that I should ke the twenty books in it, as I never rend in bed. Yet if I were in the Clerk's shoes; or bexl, I might. He wasis poor scholar, of course, with a garrot in Merton Street, or some dark outry in se such a and had his books where he could, He slept. Iso, in the Seats fashion, in the wall

He made his bed of the bottom shelf of a cupboard with doors, which bad other shelves on the three sides of him where he lay Probably all his gear, and very possibly his provender, were stored in the place where he stored himself.

LTD. But that is not the point. It does not

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[183

patter where you keep your books, or how you

clothe them. It matters enor- mously what books they are if you have to acquire them as the Clerk of Oxenford did. Whatever they were he would not have bought he would have made--them. Now, if in order in possess yourself of a book you have first to copy it out, the choice at your twenty is one which will adinit no mistake.

A PERSONAL AFVATE,

not. Each of them is trivial, and each bas a touch upon the trivial which AO other writing can give me. Many a French poo-La Fontaine, for instatice can be trivial, and with charm; yet to my understanding there will always be a och of man-of-the-world-ishuess about him, which sophisticates and spoils.

of

But the trivial, the little things of life, the the ephemeral joys and sorrows; sights that soon pass, the tears that goon dry, the love that soon forgets or is soon forgotten: these things are with us, would have Meleager at Simonides, deserve as they need-their.

singer.

In their default I use. if I could. chose Theocritus. And my last classic shall be (3) the "Odes" of Ferace, for much the same reason-er. if I want no doubt, do better with Catullus. Bat nother, because I love them. I might,

ho takes things too hard.

MODERN POETRY,

So far as

I shall take moderu poctry next, and fill up half my twenty with it. If I were As many years younger I should doubtless fill up the whole score at that inexhausti- blo fount along; but I ought to have leared the virtues of fugacity by this time and, anyhow, poetry is not to me again, there is no question of what to the spiritual food it was once. Hero

begin with.

ain concerned that was settled long ago, and has never sinco been in doubt. Dante's "Divine firstly, of the affections, with which, hos Comedy is my fourth choice a choice, ever, my judgment happens to coincule, I learned to read it early, and have never eased to read it. Few days pass during which it is entirely out of my head. Lines, phrases, cadences, images from it float all about

colouring my common thoughts,

me.

If I could only he allowed two paesag to my bed's head, one would be the Tho ad," the other the "Comedy." fifth is very difficult, but I decide for The Canterbury Tales." Some while

I де should have preferred Troilus and Crocide," but not now. Then comes the immense problem of Shakespeare, and I must face it out. Well, I could not-and of I know it-cony out the Works" Shakespeare. The heart would fail me. as it alway does ponfronted with futile Jabour, The Poeras," while there are so maur better to be had. I should not wast The Sonnets" I could do with- out.

Of the "Plays there are very many of which I should, not feel myself thei richer, and I could not afford the labour of copying, ay, "All's Well That End. Wel

The Two Gentlemen of Verma. Taking them, then, separately, as I may, I should feel bound to have (0) Henry IV" both parts, for the sake of Falstaff: (7) As You Like It." for the cake of Rosalind : (S) A Midsum-- mer Night's Drom." for its own sake: aud sassess myself of what I now call the best of Shakespeure. Once ipon & atine, no doubt, I would have had the whole volume everything of Shakirs- peare's; at another time, again no doubt,

There is no question here, then, of the Twenty Best Books. It is a personal affair. The late Lord Avebury lent him self to that academic pastizy, and picked out what be considered the best hundred, He gave to his choice memory, attention, and judgment. I don't doubt that he made out more or less the list which any | one of attainments oven greater than, bis own would have made. But this is question, not for the judgement, birt för the heart. It does not matter a book is good, better, the best. I am to decide whother I want to possess it; whether I want to possess it to the extent that I will write it out exquisitely 01 well punited parchment, with a red or quill: eurich it with initial letters in pale blue and gold, or green and pate rell become oraftsman as well as student; stationer, scrivener, illuminator, and hock bituler: work for love of the book as well as for my proper perman's pride; and finally which out of the n-million books that are in the world will elect for my twenty.

Hamlet." Lear and Antony," but never" Othelle, which I never was able to read all through, and should not new try to read. But that is no matter I end up my balfevre with two poems- not because I like them better than many others, but simply because I could not do without them. They are (9) "Lycides"! and (10) The Ancient Mariner."

Now prose must be thought of: "Aris- totle and His Philosophie," Gibbon's Decline and Fal, Ruskin, the metaphy sicians, and all the rest of them. I shall

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AN EXTREMELY USEFUL" BOOK,

Writing from Singapore, under date March 31st, 1922, Sir Godfrey- Thomas, Private Secretary to HRE. THE PRINCE, OF WALES, Says:--

Sta, beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant and um desired by the Prince of Wales to thank you for the copy of the 60th anal edition of "THE DIRECTORY & CHRONICLE FOR CHINA, JAPAN, THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS, ETC., ETC.." which His Royal Highness has been pleased to accept, and which will be extremely useful during the remainder of the tour."

The Managing-Director,

HONGKONG DAILYT PRzsa, IAD.,

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SMOKERS CIRCLES '

Get them at the

and enjoy a clean comforting smoke.

I repeat, they need not be the Best Twenty or even the most useful twenty. You are

not attempting a referenco Jibrary, for, like the Clark of Oxenford, you will not be cut off from that indis pensable. They are to be. Turer spore than either of those, score without

cines all those ng hoals of reference, and HONGKONG CICAR STORĖ, LTD. which you could hardly contemplate cut them out. They are tools, they are existence from day to day, a Booro for quarries, what you will except meat and sako af which your incredible labour drink. You cannot make a companion of would be nothing, or a delight, a score

"The Decline and Fall" as

As you can say,

Cat for whom sake all the others might go. of Boswell's "Life of Johnson." That score of scores needs some thinking them all out, then. My loveath book will be Montaione, for the simple reason that about. I have given a day to it, and rande out mine. The best I can say of

a day with his "Essaisis like

day it summarily is that I wish I was young

with the frosty kind old pagan himself. enough, rich

enough, or (perhaps I ought You need not always understand him. to say) poor rough to be able to set to work at it. I can honestly imagine nothing more delightful and few things mom pro- fitable. What an artist. I should make of elf! What stored mind should I have For to write out your books as the Clerk wrote out his. every minim of every letter, every crossing of a i, every dotting of an i, was a considered act. Good hearons, how I have wasted my time!

I

EXTRACTS WON'T DO."

still ima always serm with him--but how he braces you! What a salt he has for your bread and cheese, and sometimes what a pepper! "Religio Medio be (12). though I prefer Urno Burial" as the more splendid and suggestive:

Bitt

have an idea that the Religin will row upon me, and that "Urno Burish” may in time love me.. Ono is on the low, the other. I think, just on the ebb, 713) will be Cowper's Letters, "the best in our tongue, with for rivals in aãe tongue known to mo: and (14) the and "Last Essaya.” of Elia.

Frug

THE NOVELS, And do novela Bless me, I could do with fifty- Gil Blas," Manon Les caut," "Robinson Crusoe," "Amelia,"

* Lash

Vicomte de Bragelonne,” tho Chronicle of Batuak, "War and Pence, ut Jeans brif-a-dozen of Walter Sett's. But it caunut be... My two re (15) Don Quixote" and (16)

The Heart of Midlothian,

I must now give my list, when I have explained the few limitations upon choice. Books of reforcuce have been cut out for": abvious reasons; books of devotion, are cut out for others, equally obvious. The Clerk did not put his Bible and Hours at his bed's head; he had them elsewhere. So should we. Otherwise, the books may be as long as you can pretend to copy, or as short as will content you. But you must not make books out of others. Extracts won't do. Beauties of Shakes peare, Ilalf-hours with the Poets. You That leaves me four more choices, which may not make, os epy; a "Corpus" vun I must devote to filling up gaps in the may not have, or enpy,

Golden" ethers. I want more lyrical poetry, and Treasury." I deptors it; but so it is wit have the best. Therefore (17) Heine. Yours must be whole banks, complete if Thea sema sound, morality, in the heat themselves from title to colophon. Single prose I can find; that seems to indicate poemas, long enough to be bound, #70 (16) Pastal's "Pensées." The last two allowed, single essays, even, if they fulfil are supremely difficult. Title-pages font be the same condition; There are no other fore me, Tristram Shandy's," Rabelais', cule to this game, except that one which Amlin's," The Decameron's; the applies to all games, and is named from divines', the letter-writers; the Essayists', ono.

That rule is that you must play Renan'a, Turguenev's, Mme. de Sévigné's cricket." The hand must be upon theaway, away, I must go without you. heart.

is (19) Dasent's" "Burnt

T

Now lot. mo`src. I have no difficulty Nial and (20) the 131orte af Arthur, at all with my first choice, a book the That is the best I can do. I am ready whole of which I have actually gono to begin upon them na abon na I have through many times word by word. It learned to write.

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is the Iliad." It was almost the first book which awoke me is a boy; it may well be the last to keep me so as an old man. I might say the same or nearly of the Odyssey, but I cannot afford myself bath, so choose what. I feel to ba the greater hook, not so much on that nocount as that I like it the bolter. Its range is wider, its moral beauty, more The House of Commons on March 27th profound. It cannot be more beautiful, received with cheers the announcement, yet it is of greater sublimity. It touches made by Lt.-Cafenel Walter Guinness, in every part. For me it least it is Under-Secretary for War, that the Army greatest book in the world. Since Council had decided to abolish Field

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[710

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