Political philosophy is found in great books - those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank - and in books by professors. You should spend much more time with the great authors than with the professors, and you should use the professors to help you understand the great authors; you should not allow yourself to be diverted or distracted from the great books by the professors. Why not go for the gold? Why be content with the dross? I am a professor; so take it from me that I am only a subordinate guide, one with the office of introducing you to the true guides.
- From A Student's Guide to Political Philosophy by Harvey C. Mansfield
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