Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1873-02-08

l'A' ~ hA u NA-ff AANNA WIN
On Wednesday evening Rev. jacob Todd
l,cture before the Wesleyan
Female Colegs on the subject of " What
Books to Read" lie said man WAS dis
tinct FROM all other animals because he
writes. The hee and the beaver build their
now as they did originally,
but man knows no limit to his improve
ment-. because he is able to write. Books
trtm no. only Of things now existing, but
Of those no Ion ger existing. Reading in
traduhes us 1t tn whole worlds of thought
and fancy that observation lever can. A
German writer once lived near kOcnigs-
burg, Germany, who was never more than
nine miles from his home, yet he revcled
over nll be ,uuh Humboldt, in conyers-
ing with IL tourist f.Om J,rusulem, aston
shrd him Win Il description Of the city,
AID when asked how long 1t had been
stree he Wa there, said that forty years
ago he had studied preparatory 10 going,
hut, after all, was prevented. By reading
we are introduced Into the society OF thu
great AMI good of al ages and lands.
Reldl opens vi whole regions Of gran
lrur aud brauty which Otherwise would
remain ont Of sight.
RetG.tg gives us the results Of whole
/ iv's ~ observation. Reading saves labor
mid tuc by cleaning from every field
where Keepers have gone before. Reading
not on'V sores tho mind with useful hnO VI
cdgr hul mOulds The mind. Most of ideas
called original are a thousand years old.
/ Irish bulls are traced TO Persia. Plagiarism
the copying Of ttntrs writings without
uu 'crsandne. Reading Is mental allie
mint. When We have digestod our read
NJ. the tloughts enter ard become part
of uur own thinking and We have Il rigrt
iYttOM. T. is better - be called book
worm uu an original guorahus.
IhrIt Is not a coUntry on earth where
reading Is So general as in our own. II
rUituii s. ugo widespread iLnurdnce maui
the 90 -sts Indifferent o reading. TT
poor " hn eould read were too poor to bur
uouk-, and cons queutly reading was con
fined 10 those who lead literary life
Tu-dty books are so cheap that anNhod,
can obtain them. Education is so diilustl
that rmost all peop.e can read. We hev
had tile golden, ron and brazen ages, hu
oar ugt II a psptr age. The cohbleI
hootbi- cN, newshuy and even the bin
can rad. Z hc increase Of books am
readers augurs no evil. The danger is il
readii Unfortunately which results j
Il mo- bid craving for low literature. ]
! Libraries, volumes Of such writer's d
. DlIlC ana living hlt hulull Aoututt
r. while love novels requite rebiuding on AZ
70 ,oun' Of so many readers. Reading r.
t name of thrilling adyeuturers has ha
20 fleet. and the shipwrtcked sailor AT
n wounded soldier huds the world
u ronluce very different from Il
4. ne in which We live. Eyryda
A thr sentiment against novel reading grow
~, stror or. The writers OF fiction enl j.
- ssnDola in their written language.
d IN d character Ms r.. lstiiT ever eAis,e,
7 Tia" dinmet ST only combined what va
u IN thousand MN, No enc ehfistia
& passed through the scenes described
VI Bun,an's Pilgrims Progress. A high
e order of genius is required 10 write tctiO
H. There is no apology and hut little excu
pr for the works Of fiction now flooding Il
Pr country.
II bad works on fiction be cast aside Il
Id, influence OF fiction will he as healthy
~. any part of literature. TIE mind uee
literature Of fact irst. The popular NH
,e mrsi grasp With stern realities first, tn
turn q fiction for r,huemeut. Fiction
nike music,a kind Of dessert to a rich mel
's Whoever begins with fiction general
z, gets morbid taste; lis brain becom
1 di-lcmi erred. lfth- poi ular mind is to
is dege'ol cd. Il can Poe done only by banis
20 Ing All "ycllow back" novel;. and sto
Is the you'll ful mind With history and sol
foundation Of facts.