Résumé
Résumé de Sésame et Lys
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love reading and want to think about how to do it well, and anyone curious about Victorian ideas of education, home and the influence of women.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Sesame and Lilies is a book of lectures by John Ruskin, the Victorian critic of art and society. The first, Of Kings' Treasuries, is about reading. The second, Of Queens' Gardens, is about women and what they might be and do. Later editions added a third piece, The Mystery of Life and Its Arts, first spoken in Dublin in 1868.
The title explains the plan. Lilies stand for the gentle, patient strength he hopes to see in women. You get an argument that a book is a living message from a wise mind, that reading is hard work worth doing, and that a nation shows what it values by where it spends its money. First, the question of what a book really is.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A book is a voice across timeFree
- 2Read slowly, word by word
- 3Choose few books and choose well
- 4Women's power is to order and guide
- 5Girls deserve a serious education
- 6Home reaches into the wider world
Point clé 1 sur 6
A book is a voice across time
Ruskin opens by separating a book from mere talk. A book, he says, is a message written down so that it can travel past the speaker's own life. The author said something true, or tried to, and wanted it to last. A book is therefore not a thing to pass the time with, but a way of meeting a mind that is no longer in the room.
This is why he calls the shelves of a library kings' treasuries. The kings he means are the great writers of the past, and what they leave is not gold but thought. In his view, anyone can enter this company, rich or poor, if they are willing to knock. The door is open to everyone, but it is not open to everyone at once, because it takes effort and patience to go in.
Ruskin also asks what we want from a writer. He says we should not go to a book to find our own opinions repeated, or to judge the author before we have heard him. We should go as learners, ready to find that the writer knows more than we do. That is a humbling idea, and he means it to be.
Think of a book that changed how you see something, and ask whether a conversation could have done the same. Ruskin says a book can reach further, because the author has had time to choose each word. The first lesson of Sesame is respect for that care.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 49,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 15 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Sésame et Lys
What is Sesame and Lilies about?
It collects lectures by John Ruskin. The first, Sesame, is about how and what to read. The second, Lilies, is about the character, education and influence of women. Later editions add a third essay on the mystery of life.
What does the title Sesame and Lilies mean?
Sesame is the magic word that opens the robbers' cave in the tale of Ali Baba, and Ruskin uses it for the way books open knowledge. Lilies stand for the gentle, pure power he praises in women.
When was Sesame and Lilies written?
A third essay, first spoken in Dublin in 1868, was added in later editions.
Is Sesame and Lilies hard to read?
The arguments are clear. It is short and easier to follow.
What is the main message of Sesame and Lilies?
Ruskin argues that reading great books with close attention enriches a person and a nation, and that women should be well educated so they can use their moral influence at home and in public life.