West-Jersey pioneer., 1873-06-13
THE DANGER OF FICTION.

The tendency of the age is to avoid
as much possible hard labor and hard
thought A large proportion Of our
young men and women have an uncon-
querable aversion to any hard manual
labor or mental exertion, and the same
people very naturally only read to be
amused The vast circulation of maga-
zines filled with trashy stories is con-
stantly increasing. So general has novel
reading become, that little .attention is
ever paid to its dangers, even when the
novel-and this is rare is the produc-
tion of a conscientious writer. A great
deal of the false ideas prevailing among
American youth may be directly traced
to the pernicious influence of novels on
the one hand, and to the reading of GER
tain papers where vice and robbery are
glorifed, joked about, and made to "seem
not so bad after ALL on the other
Young men and women who have re.
ceived certain education, and who per-
sist in wasting their time over the i'm
possible adventures of imaginary people
What would these people say If they
heard some person relate series of i'm
probable, ridiculous stories during several
hours each day. They would say it was
childish. The case is not changed when
they sit hour after hour over novels.
That certain 6ctious may serve good
purpose, all will admit; some of the fin
est writings in the English language are
contained in novels. Unfortunately, how
ever, too often some of these works are
pervaded with subtle immortality which
is most pernicious. French society has
been almost completely demoralized with
the food of immoral writings. These
very works are read with great eagerness
in manv families, where the mere fact of
there being written in French is thought
to be sufficient excuse or antidote.
We have hardly reached this depth
yet, and the inherent, outspoken nature
of English is to some degree check on
the growth Of this kind Of literature
We have, however, several magazines
that circulate by the hundred thousand
all over the country, full of wishy-washy
maudlin, morbid writing.
There may be a good deal Of excellent
writing in these magazines, there is in
fact, but it is the grain Of wheat in the
busbel of chaff The abiding impression
ever remains Of anything read. There
is nothing to be learned from the reading
of such works, not even knowledge OF
the English language. One standard
author would do more good in this way
than score of the gepiuses who form the
delight Of factory girls. =
The reading Of fctions to much extent
is especially injurious to young men. 1t
weakens the memory, gives false ideas
of life, occupies valuable time that might
be devoted to profitable and useful study,
and engenders discomfort. When one
turns from such productions as the Sex
traordinary Advsntures Of the One-eyed
Apple Girl" or the 'sTrall of the Silver
Serpent" to the masculine thought and
style of frst-class authors, the mind
catches portion of the same spirit, is
toned and improved.
A taste for serious reading is matter
of habit, but it is not ephemeral, and new
pleasures, new ideas will be created con
tinually. It is those books that con
tribute to make us feel happier, which
enlarge our views and improve our NOR
ais that we should give the preference
The Emporium.