Praefatio
The Will to Know
Those lacking natural ability are divided into the zealous, who earn knowledge through effort, and the slothful, who spurn truth through a depraved will.
There are many whom nature itself has so far abandoned in natural ability that they can scarcely grasp even the things that are easy to understand, and these fall, it seems to me, into two kinds. For there are some who, although they do not ignore their own dullness, still strive after knowledge with whatever effort they can manage, and by persistently pressing on with zeal, they deserve to obtain by the effort of the will what they have less of in actual achievement. But others, since they feel they can by no means comprehend the highest things, also neglect the least things, and as if resting secure in their own torpor, they lose the light of truth in the greater matters all the more — and it is precisely by this measure that they flee from learning the lesser things they could understand. Whence the psalmist says: They were unwilling to understand, so that they might do well.✦ For it is one thing, by far, not to know, and another thing to be unwilling to know. Not to know is, to be sure, a matter of weakness, but to detest knowledge is a matter of a depraved will.
Neglecting God's Talent
Whether blessed by nature or hindered by poverty, those who refuse to cultivate their God-given gifts for wisdom are without excuse.
There is another kind of people whom nature has greatly enriched with natural ability and has offered an easy approach to coming to the truth; and although their natural aptitude may be uneven, not everyone alike has the virtue or the will, through exercises and instruction, to cultivate the natural sense. For there are very many who, entangled in the business and cares of this age beyond what is necessary, or devoted to vices and bodily pleasures, bury the talent of God under the earth, and from it they seek neither the fruit of wisdom nor the return of good work — and these are, to be sure, utterly detestable. Then again, for others, a lack of means and a meager income limit their ability to learn. Still, it is hard to fully excuse them on that basis, since we see many who, struggling with hunger, thirst, and nakedness, still arrive at the fruit of knowledge. And yet there is a difference between not being able to learn — or, more precisely, not being able to learn easily — and being able to learn but refusing to. For just as it is more glorious to grasp wisdom by virtue alone when no resources are available, so it is certainly more shameful to have a vigorous mind, abound in wealth, and yet languish in idleness.
The Path of Reading
Reading and meditation form the soul for knowledge, and this book provides the three essential rules for reading well.
There are two principal ways a person is formed for knowledge: reading and meditation. Of these, reading holds the first place in instruction, and this book deals with it by offering guidance for reading. There are three rules especially necessary for reading: first, so that each person may know what they ought to read; second, in what order they ought to read — that is, what comes first and what comes after; and third, how they ought to read. These three points are each taken up one by one in this book.
A Map for the Arts and Scripture
The book is structured in two parts covering secular and divine writings, beginning with the origin and division of the arts.
It instructs the reader of both secular and sacred writings. For this reason it is divided into two parts, and each part contains three divisions. In the first part it teaches the student of the arts; in the second part, the student of sacred Scripture. It teaches in this way: showing first what is to be read, then in what order and how it is to be read. So that it may be known what is to be read, or especially what ought to be read, in the first part it first lists the origin of all the arts, then their description and division — that is, how each one includes another or is included by another — cutting philosophy from its highest level down to its lowest parts.
From Disciplined Study to Divine Wisdom
The work guides the reader through the order and discipline of secular arts before culminating in the study and spiritual application of sacred Scripture.
Then it lists the authors of the arts, and afterward shows which of them — that is, which arts — especially should be read. Then it also reveals in what order and how they should be read. Finally, it prescribes a discipline of living for its readers, and so the first part is finished. In the second part it determines which writings are to be called divine, then the number and order of the divine books, their authors, and the meanings of names. Afterward it deals with certain features of divine Scripture that are more necessary. Then it teaches how sacred Scripture should be read by the person who looks in it for the correction of morals and a way of life. At the end it teaches the one who reads it for the love of knowledge, and so the second part too reaches its close.
Read the original Latin
Multi sunt quos ipsa adeo natura ingenio destitutos reliquit ut ea etiam quae facilia sunt intellectu vix capere possint, et horum duo genera mihi esse videntur. nam sunt quidam, qui, licet suam hebetudinem non ignorent, eo tamen quo valent conamine ad scientiam anhelant, et indesinenter studio insistentes, quod minus habent effectu operis, obtinere merentur effectu voluntatis. ast alii quoniam summa se comprehendere nequaquam posse sentiunt, minima etiam negligunt, et quasi in suo torpore securi quiescentes eo amplius in maximis lumen veritatis perdunt, quo minima quae intelligere possent discere fugiunt. unde psalmista: Noluerunt, inquit, intelligere ut bene agerent. longe enim aliud est nescire atque aliud nolle scire. nescire siquidem infirmitatis est, scientiam vero detestari, pravae voluntatis. est aliud hominum genus quos admodum natura ingenio ditavit et facilem ad veritatem veniendi aditum praestitit, quibus, etsi impar sit valitudo ingenii, non eadem tamen omnibus virtus aut voluntas est per exercitia et doctrinam naturalem sensum excolendi. nam sunt plerique qui negotiis huius saeculi et curis super quam necesse sit impliciti aut vitiis et voluptatibus corporis dediti, talentum Dei terra obruunt, et ex eo nec fructum sapientiae, nec usuram boni operis quaerunt, qui profecto valde detestabiles sunt.
rursus aliis rei familiaris inopia et tenuis census discendi facultatem minuit. quos tamen plene per hoc excusari minim posse credimus, cum plerosque fame siti nuditate laborantes ad scientiae fructum pertingere videamus. et tamen aliud est cum non possis, aut ut verius dicam, facile non possis discere, atque aliud posse et nolle scire. sicut enim gloriosius est, cum nullae suppetant facultates, sola virtute sapientiam apprehendere, sic profecto turpius est vigere ingenio, divitiis affluere, et torpere otio.
Duae praecipue res sunt quibus quisque ad scientiam instruitur, videlicet lectio et meditatio, e quibus lectio priorem in doctrina obtinet locum, et de hac tractat liber iste dando praecepta legendi. tria autem sunt praecepta magis lectioni necessaria: primum, ut sciat quisque quid legere debeat, secundum, quo ordine legere debeat, id est, quid prius, quid postea, tertium, quomodo legere debeat. de his tribus per singula agitur in hoc libro. instruit autem tam saecularium quam divinarum scripturarum lectorem. unde et in duas partes dividitur, quarum unaquaeque tres habet distinctiones. in prima parte docet lectorem artium, in secunda parte divinum lectorem. docet autem hoc modo, ostendendo primum quid legendum sit, deinde quo ordine et quomodo legendum sit. ut autem sciri possit quid legendum sit aut quid praecipue legendum sit, in prima parte primum numerat originem omnium artium deinde descriptionem et partitionem earum, id est, quomodo unaquaeque contineat aliam, vel contineatur ab alia, secans philosophiam a summo usque ad ultima membra.
deinde enumerat auctores artium et postea ostendit quae ex his videlicet artibus praecipue legendae sint. deinde etiam quo ordine et quomodo legendae sint, aperit. postremo legentibus vitae suae disciplinam praescribit, et sic finitur prima pars. in secunda parte determinat quae scripturae divinae appellandae sint, deinde numerum et ordinem divinorum librorum et auctores eorum et interpretationes nominum. postea agit de quibusdam proprietatibus divinae scripturae quae magis sunt necessariae. deinde docet qualiter legere debeat sacram scripturam is qui in ea correctionem morum suorum et formam vivendi quaerit. ad ultimum docet illum qui propter amorem scientiae eam legit, et sic secunda quoque pars finem accipit.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.35.4 — Let those who seek my life be put to shame and let those who devise my ruin be turned back and brought to disgrace.
Didascalicon de Studio Legendi (On the Study of Reading) companion
Hugh said begin with small daily portions. Start tomorrow.
Chosen Portion serves one short, ordered devotional reading each day — the medieval lectio pattern, free on iOS.
Hugh taught that formation comes from ordered, incremental daily reading, and Chosen Portion is that ordered daily portion delivered to your phone.
- A curated daily portion in 2-3 minutes, no decision fatigue about what to read
- Progress through complete historic works in order, the way Hugh prescribed
- Free app plus a weekly email unpacking one reading in depth