Word: benet
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...fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . . ." quotes Mr. Benet, and in the quotation is found the theme of his book how one Phillip Sellaby, after a rather hectic career during his last year of college (Yale, of course), and for some years following, has the way to understanding--or, at least, fear--of the Lord, paved for him by love. With this knowledge comes to Mr. Sellaby a certainty of principle and purpose with which to guide his actions. Really it is quite an accomplishment--both for Sellaby and the author. One feels that the book...
There are many good things about "The Beginning of Wisdom." In the first place, Mr. Benet has instilled into his writing a lively, easy style that swings along in great form. His descriptive ability is of high calibre, and the book is vividly colored as a result of his careful observation and, we suppose, also from his training in forming poetic images. The poems that are interspersed here and there have a pleasant swing to them, and often are allegorically related to the story--which adds to their value...
...author has chosen a difficult task. He attempts to portray the psychological development of a not strictly average individual. His method is to picture, in kaleidoscopic glimpses, Sellaby's attitudes towards--well, towards things. Mr. Benet succeeds rather remarkably well, too, because he succeeds in putting his puppet through a great variety of experiences. Some of the incidents are very well told, and might stand alone as good short stories. But with clever artistry, Mr. Benet has inserted one or two themes into his narrative which serve to unify the whole quite effectively...
...chief criticism of the book is that Phillip Sellaby is not the pulsing human being he should be. His experiences are vivid enough; the author has a faculty for imagining situations. But, as we have said before, the story seems at least partially auto-biographical. The reader feels Mr. Benet is writing more or less about himself and trying to picture how he would react to certain situations; that is, about a kind of ideal himself with whom he is not fully acquainted--or at least whom he is reticent about letting anyone but himself know intimately. The irony...
...firm iron of the fourteenth line. An you please, Mr. Benet, no more of this. "Heavens and Earth!" "And shall I couple hell?" Sing us a thousand ballads! Drink...