To learn about another country, to appear educated, to pass examinations or simply to enjoy oneself all these are (good or bad) for studying literature. The best reason however is quite different, and at first sight it may appear strange and out of date. It is however a reason which has been given by many great men in the past, including Plato, namely that by studying literature we are in some sense making ourselves better people: literature in fact is something from which we get moral education.