WEB POSTED 02-20-2001

'READ--IN THE NAME OF THY LORD'

A short while ago, we presented, in this column, the current list of the �100 Great Books� which are found, among other places, in the Public Library (the books, as well as the lists). The list changes from time to time, usually based upon somebody�s view of changing circumstances. However, even if you have read all 100 that are on a current list, you can only gain by reading others which have been dropped from the list or, for whatever reason, have yet to make the list.

I happened to dig up (from my files) an article which appeared in the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, October 3, 1999. Written by TRIBUNE staffer Ron Grossman, it described 25 books which the writer felt �helped shape civilization over the past 1,000 years�. Of these, eight are a part of the aforementioned list which appeared in this column. I deem it worthwhile to list the other 17:

�Theologica Summi Boni�, by Peter Abelard; �History of the Kings of Britain,� by Geoffrey of Monmouth; �The Courtier,� by Baldassare Castiglione; �Utopia,� by Thomas More; �Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation�, by Martin Luther; �Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,� by Isaac Newton; �The Treaties of Government,� by John Locke; �Encyclopedie�, by Denis Diderot; �Common Sense�, by Thomas Paine; �What is the Third Estate?� by the Abbe Sieyes; �The Book of Mormon�, by Joseph Smith; �The Communist Manifesto�, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; �Uncle Tom�s Cabin,� by Harriet Beecher Stowe; �The Interpretation of Dreams�, by Sigmund Freud; �Mein Kampf�, by Adolph Hitler; �The Story of My Experience With Truth�, by Mohandas Gandhi; �The Second Sex�, by Simone de Beauvoir; and �Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-tung�.

By all means, do not get caught up in arguments over one list versus the other. Remember, if you read all the books in all the libraries in the world, you would not have scratched the surface of the knowledge which exists in the Universe�BUT BE FOUND TRYING! More than once, I was told by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad that there is no knowledge that exists in the Universe that is not written somewhere in a book. The Honorable Louis Farrakhan is an avid reader, and constantly urges all of us who wish to follow his footsteps along the road of success to read and study all that we can, utilizing every moment that we can spare for this purpose. As he has further pointed out, reading is always time well spent, for there is nothing that exists that is not recorded somewhere in a book. He cautions us, however, that there is a correlation between physical food and mental food. In each case, a proper diet will improve your health, while garbage will make you sick, and may even kill you. Remember, every physical law has a spiritual counterpart. Just as filling your stomach with filth can destroy you physically, filling your head with filth can and will destroy you spiritually, mentally and, eventually, physically.

Be intelligent�choose life!