STARRED REVIEW
December 2004

The wisdom of the ages

By Harold Bloom
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According to King Solomon, wisdom cries in the street, imploring the simple to acquire her reproof. If it were only that easy. Wisdom may cry in the street, but it also hides in the nooks and crannies of our psyches, walks on the waters of our adversities and disguises itself in paradox and poetry. In his inspiring book, Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?, literary critic Harold Bloom explores the great writing of Western culture in his quest for wisdom. Bloom’s criteria are simple: he is searching for Truth, Beauty and Insight. Drawing from the writings of the ancient Hebrews and Greeks, the classic literature of Shakespeare and Cervantes, and the philosophical musings of Goethe and Nietzsche, Bloom attempts to synthesize the wisdom of the ages into a succinct syllabus. “We read and reflect,” he writes, “because we hunger and thirst for wisdom.”

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