From simpleton to sage

Wisdom for sale!

The books in Penguin’s Great Ideas series have a strange power over me. The 24 titles (40 titles are available in Canada and the UK) contain excerpts from the canon of significant “thought” literature, i.e. Philosophy, Social Criticism, Religious Scripture, etc. Displayed at bookstores in special, compartmental stands, they positively twinkle at the onlooker. Crisp, sassy, and appealing, these little duodecimo tablets with ‘smartistic’ covers promise to divert me and make me smart. They look so… easy.

But I can’t completely trust them. Each book is so brief that nothing more than a superficial misrepresentation of its author’s mighty thoughts seems possible. Let’s be honest, I may never get around to, for instance, the complete Essays of Montaigne, so I’ll give Great Ideas a try. I promise not to claim to know everything about Montaigne after two chapters.

Ever-dependable, the NYPL has 10 of the titles available for loan! I spotted two copies at the Jefferson Market branch in Greenwich Village and pounced upon one gladly. Standing on the checkout line, I daydreamed about my gradual transformation into a lettered person. (But it was to be one step forward, two steps back: the other item I borrowed was a DVD of “Wonder Woman - season two.”)

I have chosen “On the Shortness of Life” by Seneca, the earliest writer in the series. The book’s cover quote solemnly intones, “Life is long if you know how to use it.” Philosophy is not meant to be self-help, yet I can’t resist the temptation to view it that way. I want this book to give me guidance through the pesky career crisis I’m experiencing right now.

I’ll let you know how it goes.