Give a young person a classic. Save Civilization

The other day I made a casual, uncompromising comment referring to Don Quixote's idealism. My interlocutor, who was still a university student, had no idea who I was talking about. Shortly after, in another conversation, I mentioned the fanaticism of Simão Bacamarte, from The Alienista, the brilliant work of Machado de Assis. My listener, who was in his early twenties, also had no idea who he was. Later, to give an example of lyricism, I quoted …