I need to avoid the bookstore
So in my History of the English Language class this morning we read some Middle English texts (well, two pages’ worth) and it was tremendously fun, especially now that I’ve studied Old English. The last text we looked at was the first few paragraphs of the Canterbury Tales, and when I got out of class I just had to go over to the bookstore and get a cheap ($6 paperback) copy of Chaucer in the original Middle English. I also picked up a Lonely Planet Cantonese phrasebook.
I do have a bit of a dilemma, though. (And not just about my lack of frugality when it comes to books.) If I remember correctly, Chaucer can be a bit on the bawdy side. Ditto for Boccaccio’s The Decameron and Voltaire’s Candide. I’m still not sure how to reconcile my beliefs with such literature — are they “virtuous, lovely, and of good report”? Is there enough of value in these books that I really ought to read them? (And if so, I would suppose that I should skip over the questionable parts.) Knowing that they’re “great” literature and icons of an era makes it harder to decide. Shakespeare’s great as well but he has his somewhat obscene moments. At any rate, it’s a lot easier to skip over something bad in a book than it is in a movie. I have a feeling I’ll be writing more about this in the near future.
Well, Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta are giving a lecture at the library in half an hour, so I’d better go get a good seat.
