Argumentative writing

Bacon said in On Learning: "The purpose of reading for learning is to increase the entertainment and decoration of knowledge." "The use of learning in entertainment is to live in seclusion; The use of knowledge in decoration is rhetoric; Learning is used to judge and handle affairs. " Bacon is worthy of being a philosopher. He summed up three main uses of learning in concise language: one is entertainment, the other is decoration, and the third is to increase knowledge. Reading and entertainment are relaxed and free, and you can do whatever you want; Reading for decoration is superficial and vulgar, and it can be superficial, as long as it can fool; Learning in order to increase knowledge is hard and laborious, and it needs perseverance, but persistence will always have an effect. Reading is an elegant thing, but its uses are so different. However, no matter what purpose you study for, you can forget to eat and sleep. Therefore, don't regard reading as the only characteristic of a gentleman. In other words, every gentleman should be a scholar; But not all scholars are gentlemen.

Reading is a highly utilitarian activity, which is closely related to fame and fortune. The ancients said, "There is a golden house in the book, a thousand catties of millet in the book, and Yan Ruyu in the book" is the best witness. The most fundamental motivation for the ancients to endure loneliness and study hard at a cold window is the glory of "becoming famous in one fell swoop". The frustration of ancient writers in China is generally due to their unsatisfactory official career. When their dream of benefiting from studying hard failed, they began to doubt the usefulness of reading. It is their lifelong regret that they can't honor their ancestors and get high officials and generous salaries.

Perhaps people who study today will no longer have the excitement of "spring breeze is proud of horseshoe disease, and they can see all the Chang 'an flowers in one day", but their reading is still utilitarian. With the acceleration of the pace of life and the increase of work pressure, most people spend their limited time reading the books they think are the most useful, so as to occupy a favorable position in the competition and improve their lives to the maximum extent.

Of course, we can't deny that while people are pursuing utility, they are also upgrading their talents and increasing their knowledge. People who read philosophy books become thoughtful, people who read history books are rich in knowledge, people who read technical books have a skill, and people who read economic books have a unique vision ... They are unconsciously influenced by books and improve themselves, so there are sayings that "good books are friends of mankind" and "opening books is beneficial".

In the choice of books, people pay more attention to practicality, such as foreign languages and computers. , and often ignore ancient books. In the minds of some people who are completely ignorant of the situation, they firmly believe that "ancient books" are synonymous with "pedantry" and "backwardness". Fortunately, in recent years, people have begun to pay attention to ancient Chinese, and this phenomenon of cultural return is very gratifying. Culture also has roots. When we criticize traditional culture, we don't want to completely deny it. How can we blindly learn from the west and abandon the basics?

So how to study? Reading should be comprehensive and broad-minded, just as Mr. Lu Xun compared reading to bees gathering honey. If you only stare at one point, it will be boring, but you should also focus. Reading has many advantages, but you should have a good attitude. It is important to apply what we have learned, but this is not our only purpose. We can improve our spiritual realm, cultivate our sentiment, pursue a pure artistic enjoyment and completely abandon its utilitarianism. Isn't it tempting to read by the bright moon window?

There is a poem that says, "reading more books is always a good thing." .