Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some

"Seek the lofty by reading, hearing, and seeing great work at some moment every day." Thus counseled Thornton Wilder, and his words are like a lamp set upon a hill. For the human soul is not nourished by bread alone; it hungers for beauty, wisdom, and greatness. To seek the lofty is to raise the heart above the dust of daily cares, to remind the spirit that it was born not merely to toil, but to aspire.

The ancients knew this path well. They filled their days with poetry, with the voices of orators, with the sight of sculpture and temple. To them, the lofty was not a luxury, but a necessity, for the soul grows into what it beholds. A man who surrounds himself with pettiness will become small; but he who gazes upon greatness, even for a moment each day, will slowly rise to match it.

Consider the life of Frederick Douglass. Born into bondage, denied both books and teachers, he still hungered to seek the lofty. He stole moments to read scraps of literature, to hear fragments of noble speech, to fix his eyes upon higher things than chains. These daily glimpses gave him strength to endure and, later, to speak with such power that he shook the conscience of nations. His greatness was built on the discipline of feeding the soul with greatness, even in secret.

So too is this lesson found in Winston Churchill. In the bleak years of war, he turned often to the histories, the poems, and the speeches of ages past. By hearing and reading the works of the great, he fashioned his own voice into a clarion call that lifted a nation from despair. The lofty he consumed became the lofty he gave back to the world.

Therefore, children of tomorrow, heed Wilder’s call. Seek the lofty daily, not in hours of abundance but even in the briefest of moments. Read a line that uplifts, hear a word that strengthens, see a work that inspires. For just as the body grows strong by daily bread, so too does the spirit grow mighty by daily greatness. And he who feeds his soul with the lofty shall one day become a beacon for others, guiding them upward toward the light.