About John Ruskin and his book 'On Books and Readings'

1. WELCOME

3. • John Ruskin –born February 8, 1819, London, England -- died January 20,
1900, Coniston, Lacanshire
• English critic of art, architecture, and society who was a gifted painter, a
distinctive prose stylist, and an important example of the Victorian Sage, or
Prophet: a writer of polemical prose who seeks to cause widespread cultural
and social change
• His childhood was characterised by the contrasting influences of his father and
mother, both fiercely ambitious for him
• John James Ruskin helped to develop his son’s Romanticism. They shared a
passion for the works of Byron, Shakespeare and especially Walter Scott
• His mother, Margaret Ruskin, an Evangelical Christian taught young John to
read the King James Bible from beginning to the end
• Its language, imagery and stories had a profound and lasting effect on his
writing
• Ruskin made intensive travels through out his life
. The tours provided Ruskin with the opportunity to observe and to record his
impressions of nature

4. • This travels exposed him to English landscapes, architecture and painting
• Ruskin’s journeys also provided inspiration for his writing. Ruskin’s first
publication was his poem ‘On Skiddaw and Derwent Water’
• From September 1837 to December 1838, Ruskin’s The Poetry of
Architecture was serialised in London’s Architectural Magazine under the
pen name Kata Phusin [Greek for ‘according to nature’]
• This was a study of cottages, villas and other dwellings which centred on a
Wordsworthian argument that buildings should be sympathetic to their
immediate environment and use local materials
• He believed that all great art should communicate an understanding and
appreciation of Nature
• He advised artists to ‘go to Nature in all singleness of heart…rejecting
nothing, selecting nothing and scorning nothing
• Ruskin’s early work, Modern Painters[1843] defended the reputation of J
M W Turner

5. • In this work Ruskin controversially argued that modern landscape painters –and
in particular Turner-were superior to the so called ‘old masters’ of the post
Renaissance period
• In the second volume of Modern Painters[1846] he concentrated more on
Renaissance and pre Renaissance artists than on Turner
• He explicitly linked the aesthetic and the divine, arguing that truth, beauty and
religion are inextricably bound together; ‘the Beautiful as a gift of God’
• In 1848 he married Effie Gray, daughter of a family friend
• It was for Effie Ruskin had written The King of The Golden River
• After his marriage Ruskin visited the Alps with his parents, gathering material for
the 3rd and 4th vols of his Modern Painters
• He was struck by the contrast between the Alpine beauty and the poverty of the
Alpine peasants
• Ruskin’s developing interest in architecture, and particularly in the Gothic revival,
led to the publication of the work The Seven Lamps of Architecture[1849]

6. < Ruskin’s theories also inspired some architects to adapt the Gothic style. Such buildings
created what has been called a ‘Ruskinian Gothic’
< Ruskin showed an affinity towards Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Their commitment to
‘naturalism’ had been influenced by Ruskin
< At the end of 1850s, Ruskin’s emphasis shifted from art towards social issues by the influence
of his friend , Thomas Carlyle
< In 1860, between August and December, Ruskin published his work Unto This Last
< It is an essay and book on economy , published in the monthly journal Cornhill Magazine in the
form of four articles
< In the 1880s, Ruskin returned to some literature and themes that had been among his
favourites since childhood.
< He wrote about Walter Scott, Byron and Wordsworth in Fiction, Fair and Foul
< His last great work was his autobiography, Praeterita [1885-89], a highly personalised, selective,
eloquent but incomplete account of aspects of his life
< He died at Brantwood from influenza on twenty January 1900 at the age of 80

7. • Ruskin’s range was vast. He wrote over 250 works which started from art criticism
and history, but expanded to cover topics ranging over science, geology,
ornithology, literary criticism, the environmental effects of pollution, mythology,
travel, political economy and social reform
• Ruskin’s influence reached across the world. Tolstoy, Proust and Gandhiji were
influenced by Ruskin
• Gandhiji wrote on the ‘magical spell’ cast on him by Unto This Last and
paraphrased the work in Gujarati, calling it Sarvodaya, ‘The Welfare of All’
• Ruskin’s coinage, Pathetic Fallacy is considered as one of the important terms in
current rhetoric
• He coined the term in Modern Painters111 to describe the ascription of human
emotions to inanimate objects and impersonal natural forces
• The present essay ‘On Books and Readings’ is a condensed form of his lecture,
‘Of King’s Treasuries’ published in his book Sesame and Lilies [1865]
• The lectures delivered in December 1864 at the town halls at Rusholme and
Manchester , are essentially concerned with education and ideal conduct

8. • ‘Of King’s Treasuries’ explored issues of reading practice, literature[books of the hour
vs. books of all time], cultural value and public education
• Here Ruskin makes a differentiation between valuable and value-less books and
prompts young readers to cultivate the habit of careful and thorough reading, which
will shape their character and personality
FIRST PARAGRAPH
• Ruskin begins the essay in a warning voice. He reminds us about the abruptness of life.
Since life is short, we should be selective in the selection of books
• We do not spend our valuable time in reading valueless books and it is the duty of a
civilized country to provide valuable books in a fine printed manner within the reach of
everyone
• None of us need many books but those books which we have should be clearly printed
on quality paper with strong binds
• In a poverty stricken country, people are in a struggle to earn their daily bread. However
the fact it is, an honourable person would not fill his table with wasted food materials.
Likewise it is also awkward to have his library with ill-printed or unbound books
• Ruskin advices every person should build a library of valuable books {considering their
financial stability} which will be useful to them through out their life
• Each and every text in that library has a place and status of its own

9. • Ruskin also points out the duty of the adults ie., to give the earliest and strictest lesson
to the children in handling the pages of the book with utmost care
SECOND PARAGRAPH
• In this paragraph, Ruskin speaks about the ways of reading a book
• He admits himself that it is a wide and grave subject
• From his vast experience in the field of education , Ruskin suggests a few simple
thoughts about reading
• It happens because of his constant connection with some schools and at the same time
his interaction with the parents of students
• In all these interactions he came to know about the anxieties shared by the parents.
They always worried about their children’s ‘position in life’
• They never seek about the virtuousness of education
• The modern education is materialistic and they merely think about the ‘advancement in
life’ that is best employment, best houses, best amenities etc. but they are ignorant in
the belief that education itself is the actual advancement or asset of life
• If they not ready to achieve that asset, the other asset may perhaps be the
advancement in death

10. <Majority of people think that the concept ‘ideal education’ is an utopian idea. But it is
possible in many ways. If you set about it in the right way , it is possible
<Parents often ask Ruskin what type of books their children should read in order to
succeed in life , but according to Ruskin, getting a genuine education itself is a mark of
success and that it can be had by reading good books
THIRD PARAGRAPH
< In this paragraph, Ruskin is defining a ‘book’
• He categorises books into two- book of talk and book of written
• A book of talk is a printed text but it is considered as a mere conveyance of voice i.e.,
when an author cannot talk to the whole world at once, he records all his ideas in the
form of a book. But it is a mere multiplication of voice.
• In the case of that written text, it needs more attention and privileges ie, not to carry it
merely, but to preserve it. It is not a platform for mere communication
• A book is a permanent record of a writer’s most valuable and beautiful thoughts and it
stands as a unique piece of itself
• Every writer is bound to convey his ideas in a book because nobody else can do it
• His ideas are very much unique and he conveys what he realises to be true, useful or
beautiful

11. • In the sum of his life, he finds this is the manifestation of his life. It is the piece of true
knowledge which his share of world has permitted him to seize
• The earth gives opportunities for her children. It’s their responsibility to make use of it.
Earth has given right to go behind our dreams
• He would ready to go any extend to reveal his unique, beautiful ideas in a clear way. He
is ready to engrave it on the rock and says that this is the best of him.
• Rest of the part , his life is similar to us . But , if anything of him is worth in our memory,
that is his ‘writings’
• Whatever he writes, it is his inscription or scripture. His book is holy for him, a sacred
thing
• Work is worship
FOURTH PARAGRAPH
< In this paragraph, he talks about readers
< if you have a true desire to be taught by the writers, you should enter into their own
thoughts
< But it should not be having a search of your own experiences in that work. It’s just a
matter of observation. Try to avoid our preconceived notions

12. • If the writer is not wiser than the reader, there is no need to read it. But if he be,
he will think differently from the reader in many respects
• In the case of certain books, when we are going through it we get a feeling that
how good this book is and this is exactly what I think
• But according to Ruskin this conception is not right and he says that if a book
creates some strangeness or astonishment in the minds of the readers, we can
consider it as a great one
• While reading a book, you ensure yourself that you are going to the author to get
at his meaning not to find yours
• You have right to judge a book, but before that judgement you have to confirm
yourself that you have such and such qualities to do this
• Another important thing is if the author is worth anything , you will not get at his
meaning easily
• Though he presents his ideas in a simple language, it should not be easy to
understand. We need more time to crack

13. • Whatever he presents whether it is a paradox or parable, it is the duty of the reader to
find out the meaning. They are not ready to reveal the meanings
• Ruskin had no idea of the silence of these writers. They do not express their profound
thoughts simply and directly
• Ruskin assumes that it may be trial period for the readers that is they have to dig out
their true knowledge of their own self
• The writer’s wisdom is like precious gold. Nature hides its gold deep within mines
• In order to extract this gold from the ores, people have to dig deep
• In the same way, the reader too will have to exercise his intellect and imagination in
order to understand the meaning hidden between the lines of a good book
FIFTH PARAGRAPH
• Concepts of thorough reading
• Ruskin says that a thorough reading involves paying attention to every letter in the
text..intensively at words[meaning], syllable by syllable rather letter by letter
• That is why the study of books is called as literature and a man who versed in it is called
as a man of letters instead of a man of books

14. • No meaning of reading all books in British Museum-illiterate/uneducated
• If u read ten pages of a good book , letter by letter with real accuracy, you are in some
measure an educated person
• The difference between education and non-education lies in that accuracy
• Ruskin believes that it is far more useful to read a few books thoroughly than to read a
large number of books superficially
• An educated man may not know many languages and my not read many books
• But whatever language he knows, he knows precisely; whatever word he pronounces,
he pronounces rightly
• Above all, he should have an idea about the etymology of words- their inter marriages,
distant relationships and the noblest use of these words in other countries
• A good reader should spend time in finding out the origin, history and value of every
language he uses
• In the case of certain educated person, they may know many languages but truly they
are ignorant in a word even of their own
• An illiterate, ordinary seaman is able to make his way ashore at most ports due to his
cleverness and sensibility. He has thorough knowledge in his subject
• Likewise a single spoken sentence usually reveals the level of person’s education
• Whatever small thing he knows, it will reflects through his utterance

15. • SIXTH PARAGRAPH
• To achieve crispy valuable knowledge- deal with words rightly- what all changes
occurred in your language-factors of enrichment
• Nearly every word in a language has been a first word of some other languages,
for eg. Saxon, German, French, Latin or Greek- loan words from other languages
• Loan words are many in every language. These words undergoing a certain
change of sense and use on the lips of each nation- different pronunciation- But
good scholars try to retain the deep vital meaning of the word
• If u want to read Greek seriously, learn Greek alphabet and follow good
dictionaries and whenever you are in doubt about a word, hunt it down patiently
• For an inspiration, Ruskin refers the example of Max Muller, a German born
English scholar who translated the Rig veda and other Sanskrit words into English
• Search intensively..never let a word escape you that look suspicious
• Initially it appears tiresome but later it appears as amusing
• It will be hard work, but the person who undertakes it will reap its benefits

16. SEVENTH PARAGRAPH
• Faithfully listened to great authors-enter into their thoughts-enter into their
hearts
• Readers stay with writer’s thoughts and share their just and mighty passion
• He uses the word ‘sensation’ rather than passion
• He said that we had heard many outcries against the word sensation
• But according to the writer, we want more sensation. The dignified difference
between one man and another man lies in this sensation . Every one should feel
more than another
• The truth is that men are distinguished by their ability to feel and imagine and by
their sensibilities. It distinguishes human from beasts
• But in the case of small creatures , much sensation might not be good for them
• For human beings it’s essential because we are only human in so far as we are
sensitive and an individuals honour stands in proportion to his/her passion
• Without sensitivity and passion , we cannot claim to be humans

17. EIGHTH PARAGRAPH
• He begins with reference to great and pure society of the dead and he reminds us that
it would not allow vain or vulgar person to enter there
• Here he questions the term vulgarity
• According to Ruskin, the essence of all vulgarity lies in the lack of sensation
• Talks about two types of vulgarity- simple and innocent vulgarity & inbred vulgarity
• Simple and innocent vulgarity is merely an untrained and undeveloped vulnerability of
body and mind. But it is not dangerous
• In the case of inbred vulgarity, there is a dreadful emptiness and in its extremity they
are capable of every sort of cruel activities
• This inbred vulgarity happens because of without fear, without pleasure, without horror
and without pity
• When men become vulgar, they are in blunt hand, dead heart , diseased habit and
hardened conscience
• Once people become vulgar, they are vulgar forever and they are incapable of sympathy

18. • According to Ruskin, the most accurate quality is ‘tact or touch-faculty’ of the body and
soul
• In trees, Mimosa has that characteristics and in human beings, the pure women have
such qualities and they stand above all other creatures
• The tact or touch-faculty is the fineness and fullness of sensation beyond reason
• Reason can determine what is true & what is good and it is the God given passion of
humanity
NINETH PARAGRAPH
• Ruskin refers the world of dead not only to know from them what is true but also to
feel with them what is righteous
• To feel with them, we must be like them but no one become that without taking pains
• We read great authors to discover the truth and to refine ourselves
• As true knowledge is disciplined and tested, true passion should be tested and
disciplined. We have to learn to control our passions
• Don’t select the first passion that comes in your mind
• The first that come are the vain, the false and the treacherous

19. • If you trust that passion, it will lead you wildly and far. It’s a vain pursuit and
hollow enthusiasm
• But Ruskin reminds us that all that first feelings are not wrong in itself but only
wrong when it undisciplined
• Passion’s nobility lies in its force and justice. When it turns weak, it becomes
wrong and feels as paltry
• Cites many examples to differentiate between mean curiosity and noble curiosity
• We have to realize that the feelings of wonder and curiosity are base or noble
according to the meanness or grandeur of their objects
• Ruskin blames England for its narrowness, selfishness, minuteness of sensation
• They spend their passion only on superficial matters and they have no curiosity in
the case of suffering humanity
• Ruskin concludes that a nation interested only in money making, which does not
know the value of literature, science, art, nature and compassion, as England is
now, can never last

20. THANK YOU