The fact is that literature can act as a portal that leads to greater humanity and moral redemption.
The fact is that literature can act as a portal that leads to greater humanity and moral redemption.
Hitler‘s library contained about 16,000 titles before it was destroyed by the war of annihilation that he himself had launched. Hitler could not imagine a life without books, and Henrik Ibsen and William Shakespeare, whom he often quoted, were his particular favorites. But because he lacked both empathy and any kind of insight—his actions show that clearly—the books made no impression on him. They remained quotes.
The prerequisite is that one must read books with the heart and not just the head. To be completely clear: one needs to read books in the way that great literature has to be read. This always depends on the reader. The reader must have the courage to work for self-knowledge in order to really read them.