Feeding the Mind

Lewis Carroll's Feeding the Mind opens with an affectionate portrait of Carroll himself: shy, witty, exacting, and capable of mischief far beyond Wonderland. Introduced as a rare private lecture preserved with care, it offers a charming glimpse of his humor, his moral seriousness, and even his playful advice on letter-writing. From that intimate beginning, Carroll turns to a delightfully absurd but sharp argument: people guard their bodies with careful diets, yet let their minds go hungry, overstimulated, or badly fed without noticing. Using comic doctor visits and vivid food metaphors, he warns that mental starvation can leave a person dull, careless, and spiritually weak. He mocks harmful reading, excessive reading, and the habit of consuming too many intellectual "flavors" at once, comparing bad books to indigestible meals and mental gluttony to overeating. The result is a lively plea for moderation, discernment, and thoughtful reading as nourishment for both intelligence and character. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.