Tonight (Feb. 22) on “PBS Newshour,” David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart shared their insights. Behind Brooks were shelves of books that suggest his, or the media’s, respect for the opinions of predecessors.

Two hundred years ago, in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice,” a compliment about a person’s library brought this response: “It ought to be good … it has been the work of many generations,” followed by “I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.”

Can knowledge of the past, and thoughts preserved in hardcover on bookshelves, help our understanding of today?

William Sayres
Topsham