Every once in a while, I encounter a stray thought that wrestles with my consciousness for all eternity. The spoken word has always intrigued me. After reading from the book: “Wit Wisdom and Eloquence” by Col. Robert G Ingersoll, I realized that some people have the gift of gab. I’m not one of them…Yet. As it turns out there is a whole science to this art form that I never even conceived. While reading Ingersoll’s book it became difficult to understand yet irresistible to put down. Someday I will conquer this linguistic phobia and when I do…
That last paragraph was all that I wrote back in 2009. Since then, I’ve picked up this book several times just to read a random passage, and found myself lost for an hour or two. It always seems to make my day better. However, it’s an odd sensation to realize that the passages you’re reading are over a hundred years old. I usually find my my mind wandering through the pages and I realize that today’s world could certainly use a good dose of Wit, Wisdom, and Eloquence! This book is certainly worthy of the designation ‘classic’.
Much like Scroggin’s feed and seed, this book is like a time machine. You quickly find yourself detached from the current world and all of its tantrums and theatrics. No matter the technology that bridges these words to your mind, you’ll find yourself peering into a land that predates the statue of liberty. Like reading the Elizabethan words of Shakespeare, this book can send you fleeing to a dictionary or google to find a reference or translation. And yet with all the distance between those times and now, you’ll find yourself fully embodied with the passages that sometimes make a startling amount of sense in today’s time.
Looking for another good and underappreciated read? Check out John Barlycorn from Jack London. This book might be responsible for my recent love for sailing!