American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-11-04

hkADihe.-4he aaNanAges OF general
course Of reading, cannot be realized OF
appreciated, by those who read but li.ls.
A taste for reading. grows, With the
amount Of tims spent 10 psrusinE books,
or periodicals. A fOndness for reading.
also. becomes strengthened, in proportion
a. We become interested in the subject
matter. Of which we read. Books. that
are worthy Of our attention are the record Of
Che theughis Of other minds. And By
making Ourselves master oftheiT contents.
He add 70 our khowlsd sdgsthe acquisition OF
Others. which has been gained 6y much
Imsnt j labor. end which would require q
great length Of time fofeach Individual
tosacquire,-ifindeed they could ever attain
to, OF even spproach il. The general util-
iiy therefore, of books, is to preserve for
coming generations. what has been acqui
red by previous minds, in.shs sciences. and
every Improvement that characterizes the
advance OF civilization Itis ths duty Of
every one, to devote as much OF his time
to rational reading. as he can do without
infringing other important 6Bligations.-
Every one who refuses, OF ne9Iects, to
avail himself OF this means of. enlarging
his mind ,inficts an injury upon himsslfand
community, for which he cannot so easily
atone. "A man owes it TO himself. and to
the soci ty.in which he lives, thats he
should avail himself Of every possible meth
cd Of developing his mental resources. 50
that be may be qualified. TO contributs his
share 10 the. public stock. The man
who is content 70 pIod through life. eating.
drinking, sleeping and otherwise gratifying
merely bis own pleasures and tastes. is a
mere cyphsr, which, the world would not
miss. were he blo,ted from Z existence ex.
sept il might be for his hindrencs to 9th
ers. General reading also, contributes
very greatly to personal dignity, and man
ilness, A compstent acquaintauce with
the world enables the 'posssssor 10 sppear
well, in his sphere and to, think well ,oi
himself with which. no man ever mskes
much Of figure in life. and exerls much
influence on commupi y. For ifa nan
cannot respect biRself, be cannot command
respect from others. And what svsr ssl.
lent ne may possess. or whateysr Influence
be might otherwise be able to exert, will
be lost for the want Of ability on his
part. 70 put forth his powers. We urge
the importance of reading because, il In
common with other means, makes a man
acquainted with the world be lives, in
without which knowledge. he cyunol feel
himself truly 70 bea man; sRd cannot
honorably fill his station in Life, And we
must be permitted 70 repeat, that without
self confidence. and self respect, no man
will ever accomplish murb, ,.iah,gr .fq
Or the kind ofrssding, we need not say
much. We have said enough 10 our for
mer remarks on books; and will only 10
this connection say. that 10 profit by read
ing all iclicious books, and those OF an i'm
moral character, are 10 be grejscted.
Tbs time Tor reading, must be chosen to
suit the convenience. or circumstances tof
Of each individual The evening and the
Sabbath, asa general thing, will be the
most PROPER season for those. who pursue
other occupations; and particularly bacuuse
al those hours, the mind may more easily
he released from secular concerns. The
mere student, or professional man, will
read when his inclination leads him 10, il,
or when business requires it. Only one
suggestion presents itself further, in. re.
gard to lime. The mind should never
fstigued,by pursuing one subject to far.
At "a lims;e least We loose more 4 than we
gain.ra f ye. r.r7 s iies b asss
Manner ofteadng. demands more meth
cd. than is generally observed. For without
method, a great amount of5reading may
be done, with very little advantage to the
lreadera TO pro6hthe most we CAM from
books, The mind should, be concentrated
upon the subject beforesus and III possible.
ali other thoughlsI should, for the time te
excluded. Every paragraph. every SEN
lence, should b. thoroughly understood; ;
even il il requirestwo orithree rspetitions
Adue regard tolhs punctuation is impor.
isnt. to a good understanding of what we
read. We win profit also, as we pass
through asubjset. ny observing e, that evory
idea is clearly expressed. Ifthey are not,
we,must endeavor To- char the sense Of tie
author. from any ambiguity. orswant of
p@rspiquiy, that may obscure il. Residing
loo isstis another evil, that we would eau
tion against; crattempliug too read to much,
Too many studies At the same time. is
generally great intolerance. II Is prob.
ably, much better TO coilfihe the mind TO
one subject'at a time, ard master Il. thor.
|oughly, be Fore passing to another think
great mischief results. in our common