A new addition to the bookshelves arrived in October, and it's one I'm quite excited about. I feel I may have to add it to both my Why this Book? page as well as my Poetry from the Loft page. I'm referring to a hardback copy of The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories ( 1993), edited by William J. Bennet.
I spent some time leafing through its pages. I learned that my copy was signed inside the front cover and listed as a 1994 Christmas gift from a husband to his wife. At 818 pages, not counting the acknowledgments and index, there's certainly plenty to explore.
One little discovery made me smile. As I turned the pages, the book fell open to a bookmarked spot. On one side was Walt Whitman's “O Captain! My Captain!” and on the other, Emma Lazarus's “The New Colossus.” What a lovely pair of poems to come upon! Both are familiar works, but finding them together in this volume made me pause and read them again. I couldn't help wondering how long that bookmark had been resting there and who might have stopped to read those very pages before me.
The collection brings together 370 selections from writers and traditions spanning many generations. There are works by well-known classic authors along with selections from the Bible, Greek mythology, and Aesop's Fables.
The book is arranged into ten chapters, each centered on a virtue:
Self-Discipline
Compassion
Responsibility
Friendship
Work
Courage
Perseverance
Honesty
Loyalty
Faith
This is just the sort of book I enjoy adding to my vintage bookshelves. It isn't one that needs to be hurried through. I can see myself returning to it, opening to a chapter or a selection that catches my eye, and spending a little time with whatever I find. I'm delighted to have brought this book home.
