Quid studium impediat.
The Need for Method
Recognizing what to avoid precedes knowing what to do, and because equal efforts yield unequal results, a proper method is proven to be more effective than mere strength in study.
After we've prescribed a specific subject matter for the reader, and determined the writings that especially pertain to sacred reading by assigning them their own names, it seems fitting that we should also say something about the manner and order of reading—so that from what has already been said, the reader may recognize what subject deserves their effort, and from what is about to be said, they may receive the method and approach for that same study. For we actually understand what ought to be done more easily if we have first recognized what ought not to be done; a person must first be instructed in what they should avoid, and then trained in how to accomplish the things that need to be done. And we must explain why it is that out of such a vast crowd of learners—many of whom are both strong in talent and thriving in practice—so few, a countable number, are found who actually manage to arrive at knowledge. And to pass over those who are naturally dull and slow to understand, what especially moves us and seems worthy of investigation is why it happens that two people with equal talent and equal dedication apply themselves to the same reading, and yet they don't achieve a similar grasp of it. One quickly penetrates the meaning, quickly grasping what they're looking for; the other labors for a long time and makes little progress. But it should be known that in any undertaking, two things are necessary: namely, the work itself, and the method of the work. These are so interconnected that one without the other is either useless or less effective. Even so, prudence, as they say, is better than sheer strength, because sometimes we also lighten loads that we can't move by brute force by using skill.
The Perils of Wandering
Without discernment, a reader wanders aimlessly through the vast forest of Scripture like someone lost on winding paths, making labor pointless and arrival impossible.
That's how it is in every kind of study. Whoever works without discernment does labor, sure, but gets nowhere — like someone beating the air, pouring all their energy into the wind. Picture two people crossing a forest at the same pace: one of them struggling through winding, off-track paths, the other cutting straight along the shortest route. They push forward with equal effort, but they don't arrive equally. What else would I call Scripture but a forest, whose meanings we pluck like certain sweetest fruits by reading, and chew over by handling? So anyone who doesn't keep to a measure and order in the midst of such a vast multitude of books is like someone wandering lost in the thick of a grove — they lose the straight path of the journey and, as the saying goes, always learning but never arriving at knowledge. Discernment carries this much weight: without it, even all leisure is disgraceful, and labor is pointless. So let me state the principle in universal terms.
Three Hindrances to Study
Carelessness, lack of judgment, and circumstance are the three primary obstacles to learning, each requiring a specific response of warning, instruction, or help.
Three things especially get in the way of people's study: carelessness, lack of judgment, and circumstance. Carelessness is when we either pass right over the things that need to be learned, or learn them with too little effort. Lack of judgment is when we don't keep a proper order and method in the things we study. Circumstance comes down to chance or naturally occurring conditions — when we're pulled away from our purpose either by poverty, illness, an unnatural slowness, or even a shortage of teachers, because either there's no one to teach us, or no one to teach us well. When it comes to these three, then, the reader must be warned about the first — that is, carelessness; instructed about the second — that is, lack of judgment; and helped with the third — that is, circumstance.
Read the original Latin
Postquam certam materiam praescripsimus lectori, et eas scripturas quae ad divinam praecipue pertinent lectionem suis nominibus assignando determinavimus, consequens videtur ut etiam de modo et ordine legendi aliquid dicamus, quatenus ex his quae dicta sunt agnoscat, cui rei studium impendere debeat, ex his vero quae sunt dicenda eiusdem studii sui modum et rationem accipiat. quia vero facilius quid agendum sit intelligimus, si prius quid non sit faciendum agnoverimus, instruendus est primum quid cavere debeat, ac deinde informandus qualiter ea quae sunt agenda perficiat. dicendumque est quid sit quod ex tanta turba discentium, quorum multi et ingenio pollent et vigent exercitio, tam pauci et numerabiles inveniantur, quibus ad scientiam pervenire contingat. et, ut de illis taceam qui naturaliter sunt hebetes et tardi ad intelligendum, hoc maxime movet et dignum quaestione videtur, unde hoc accidat, quod duo pari ingenio et aequali studio uni lectioni intendunt, nec tamen simili effectu eius intelligentiam consequuntur. alter cito penetrat, cito quod quaerit apprehendit. alter diu laborat et parum proficit. sed sciendum est quod in quolibet negotio duo sunt necessaria: opus videlicet, et ratio operis, quae ita sibi connexa sunt, ut alterum sine altero aut inutile sit aut minus efficax. verumtamen melior, ut dicitur, prudentia est fortitudine, quia et pondera aliquando, quae viribus movere non possumus, arte levamus.
sic nimirum est in omni studio. qui sine discretione operatur, laborat quidem, sed non proficit, et quasi aerem verberans, vires in ventum fundit. aspice duos pariter silvam transeuntes, et hunc quidem per devia laborantem, illum vero recti itineris compendia legentem, pari motu cursum tendunt, sed non aeque perveniunt. quid autem scripturam dixerim nisi silvam, cuius sententias quasi fructus quosdam dulcissimos legendo carpimus, tractando ruminamus? qui ergo in tanta multitudine librorum legendi modum et ordinem non custodit, quasi in condensitate saltus oberrans, tramitem recti itineris perdit, et, ut dicitur, semper discentes, numquam ad scientiam pervenientes. tantum enim valet discretio, ut sine ipsa et omne otium turpe sit, et labor inutilis. ut autem universaliter complectamur!
Tria sunt quae praecipue studiis legentium obesse solent: negligentia, imprudentia, fortuna. negligentia est quando ea quae discenda sunt vel prorsus praetermittimus vel minus studiose discimus. imprudentia est quando congruum ordinem et modum in his quae discimus non servamus. fortuna est in eventu, casu, sive naturaliter contingente, quando vel paupertate vel infirmitate vel non naturali tarditate, sive etiam doctorum raritate, quia aut non inveniuntur qui doceant, aut qui bene doceant, a proposito nostro retrahimur. in his autem tribus de primo quidem, id est, negligentia, lector admonendus est, de secundo vero, id est, imprudentia, instruendus, de tertio autem, id est, fortuna, adiuvandus.
Didascalicon de Studio Legendi (On the Study of Reading) companion
Hugh said begin with small daily portions. Start tomorrow.
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