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mation, it is because, like the personal essayist, they contribute what is much better than facts, namely, a deeper wisdom and understanding. They subtly ennoble attitudes and deepen appreciation. A close analysis probably would reveal that much knowledge, wide reading, and deep reflection lie behind their interesting but seemingly light observations. It is important not to think of knowledge as confined to things learned from school or from books. The most interesting writer in the world, Shakespeare, had very little formal schooling and quoted few books. But he seemed to know every bird and flower in England. A researcher found that in his plays he referred to 62 different kinds of birds more than 600 times. He understood hunting, hawking, and angling; he knew the ways of bishops, lawyers, and soldiers; and he knew the feelings of children, and the feelings of their fathers and mothers. He used all this knowledge gained from everywhere and nowhere, sometimes directly, more often indirectly, in innumerable strange and beautiful comparisons. For example, he used his knowledge of the sea for 200 images illustrating all sorts of things. A scholar, G. B. Harrison, asks, |
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