College Construction: My Principal System - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Speech Worth Full Mark: On Reading

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

That’s right. The speech that Fang Yuan provided Francis Bacon with. 

It was the famous essay by Mr. Bacon in the parallel world that was titled “On Reading”. 

Francis Bacon stood on the stage and delivered the speech to the students below in his native English accent. 

At the same time, subtitles in both Chinese and English appeared on the huge screen behind him, sentence by sentence, with extraordinary speed. 

“Reading is enough to be enjoyable, enough to gamble, enough to be talented. It is enjoyable, most often when living alone; it is a gamble, most often in high-profile discussions; it is talent most often when dealing with the world and judging things. Although skilled people can deal with the details or judge the details one by one, when creating an overall plan, it is best not to plan too much and leave no space for learning and thinking.” 

Bacon’s opening words were clear and straightforward, clearly explaining the importance of learning. 

Coupled with his passionate tone, he immediately attracted the attention of the students below the stage. 

“Too much time spent reading makes one lazy. Too much literary talent makes one lazy. It is the old attitude of a pedant to rely solely on articles to decide matters. 

“Reading makes up for natural deficiencies, and experience makes up for deficiencies in reading. One’s natural talent is like a sweet flower. After reading, one only knows how to trim and transfer. 

“The book shows that if one does not use experience as a model, it will be too difficult to do things. 

“There is a skill that makes reading despised. Those who are ignorant admire reading, but those who are wise use reading. 

“However, reading is not a matter of usefulness. The wisdom of using a book is not in the book, but outside the book. It is all based on observation. 

“When reading a book, one must not deliberately criticize the author. One must not believe everything that is said in the book, and one must not just look for chapters or sentences. One should ponder carefully.” 

In the second part of his speech, Mr. Bacon did not stop for long. He used a few words to explain the method of reading a book. 

Then, he paused. 

Next, it was time for the comparison part of his famous book. 

He took a deep breath. His momentum was as great as thunder. He finished the following speech in one go until the end: 

“Reading makes a person full, discussing makes a person witty, and taking notes makes a person accurate 

“Therefore, a person who does not often take notes must have a strong memory, a person who does not often discuss must be naturally intelligent, and a person who does not often read must be skilled in deceiving the world in order to be ignorant and show his knowledge 

“Reading history makes a person wise, reading poetry makes a person graceful, mathematics makes a person thoughtful, science makes a person profound, ethics makes a person solemn, and logic and rhetoric makes a person eloquent: all that has been learned is a person’s character 

“One’s intelligence is limited, but there are no obstacles. One can read appropriate books to make it smooth, just like all diseases of the body can be eliminated through appropriate physical activity. 

“Rolling balls benefits the testicles and kidneys, arrows benefit the chest and lungs, slow steps benefit the stomach, horsemanship benefits the mind, and so on. 

“If one’s intelligence is not concentrated, one can make one read mathematics. One must be fully concentrated in one’s calculations, and if one is slightly distracted, one must repeat it. 

“If one cannot distinguish between different things, he can be made to read the philosophy of the school of classical studies. He is a nitpicker among his generation. 

“If one is not good at seeking common ground, if one is not good at using one thing to prove another thing, he can be made to read the files of lawyers 

“In this way, every flaw in one’s mind can be cured with special medicine!” 

… 

The speech on “On reading” was finished. 

The entire auditorium was completely silent. Everyone seemed to be still immersed in the deep message of the speech Mr. Francis Bacon had given on stage. 

Whether it was the students, the teachers, or the staff, they were all present. 

They had all heard many similar speeches by the leaders. 

However, none of the speeches of the leaders could be like Mr. Francis Bacon’s. 

With his beautiful language, passionate tone, and profound connotation, he shook their spirits. 

“Professor Bacon’s speech was too good.” 

“This speech completely moved me. I must study hard.” 

“My admiration for Mr. Bacon is like a torrential river.” 

“In the past, I didn’t have an idol, but now my idol is called Bacon!” 

After the speech ended for a long time, the students finally woke up from their dreams. Everyone stood up and applauded loudly, expressing their lofty greetings to Francis Bacon on the stage. 

The teachers were also shocked. 

“Mr. Bacon’s style of writing is loose and free, but his rhetoric is gorgeous and elegant. The metaphors and parallelisms that can be seen everywhere fully show that he has a good literary foundation. His words are clear and beautiful, it’s wonderful.” 

“The whole speech is firmly tied to a core. Reading is the best medicine for everything, reading is the ladder for human progress. What is this? This is the immortal spirit of humanism.” 

“What I thought of was its brevity. The full text is less than 2,000 words, but it brings together the function of reading, the method of reading, and the relationship between Reading and character. Every sentence is reasonable, and it is actually a model of brevity and comprehensiveness.”. “This essay is like a peerless beauty. The more you get, the fatter you get, and the less you get, the thinner you get. There is not a single superfluous sentence. Every word is powerful, and its meaning is far-reaching.” 

“In the college entrance examination, this is a composition with full marks!” 

“We must let the students recite the entire essay.” 

“It’s too small! The structure is too small! What composition with full marks? Let me put it here. Mr. Bacon’s essay will not just be the school’s opening speech. It will definitely walk out of the school gates and be remembered by the history of literature in the world.” 

Literature was powerful. The essay “On Reading” was indeed excellent. 

As long as the audience present heard it and saw the essay, they were all excited and excited. 

They were not stingy with their praise. 

At this moment, another sentence from bacon came from the microphone on the stage, “Thanks to Principal Fang’s invitation, we have jointly drafted this opening speech “On reading”.” 

“In just a few days of working together, he has become one of the most respected educators around the city.” 

“So, at the end of the speech, I would like to borrow a sentence from the principal to give to everyone 

“Principal Fang Yuan once said to me that the purpose of education is to teach everything to everyone.” 

(The original sentence was written by the Czech educationist Kwame Nuth.) 

“There is no end to learning. I hope you will continue to climb.” 

“On behalf of all the teachers, I wish you all success in your studies!” 

The audience once again, applauded.