In Literature Appetizer, Ben gives you just a taste of a book. Not meant to replace the full meal, this is meant to whet your appetite. Bon appetit!
I learned to read much later than than expected. Part “I was good at faking it” and part “teacher about to retire just let me play and not do any work in second grade.” Third grade started my long journey with despising the act of reading. It wasn’t until Grad School that I started to enjoy the books and articles that were assigned to me.
One of the things my mom said to me growing up was “Ben, you don’t hate reading. You just haven’t found the right book.” Non-fiction books discussing nature fascinate me. I’m reading a book at the moment about all the habitats in the world, and that is a more gripping read to me than any classic I read in high school. But just as you shouldn’t stick to one genre of music, I thought I should expand what I was reading when I bought Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan.
Lafayette Statue at the Governor Palace in Metz, retreieved from Wikipedia.
The most important thing I realized after finishing this book is how much I hate biographies. I loved reading historical accounts about the Whiskey Rebellion and the Battle of Blair Mountain. I also loved when Duncan discussed the historic events happening around Lafayette; the dance between the Nobility and the Republic of France over decades, or the countries around Europe responding to the threat of Napoleon.
But when Duncan would write for pages about ‘Lafayette said this’ or ‘Lafayette thought that,’ I would roll my eyes. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the same reaction I had to Finding the Mother Tree when the author would talk about her life.
There is one thing I actually took away from the text. Later in his life, Lafayette is discussing how moderation isn’t always a solution
“Does moderation consist in maintaining the center between two variable points? Which, when we say four plus four make eight, and an exaggerated claim pretends they make ten, believes it is more reasonable to maintain four plus four makes nine?”
Many places in America are named after the “Hero of Two Worlds,” who fought for freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. But this was the first time I heard about all the philosophical debates he had with his friends and enemies. George Washington told him it would be nice to abolish slavery, but now is not the right time. His enemies in the French National Assembly told him it would be nice if the people could rule themselves, but now is not the right time for direct representation.
How do you compromise with those who are actively trying to inflict political and economic violence against others?