> At Dr. Kullmann’s home, reading meant working methodically, patiently through a text, forging connections across languages, cultures, religions, and time. However, it also meant stepping back from the text to digest what it said. “What is the secret to reading?” he would often ask, with a slightly mischievous smile. “In the olden days, we would read a passage from a text, then close the book, and smoke a pipe or a cigarette and think ‘What have I just read?’ But you do not smoke, do you, Dr. Bryan?” he would playfully inquire. “The secret of reading is to close the book.” Doerries, Bryan. _The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today_. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015