The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-02-01
BISHOP LYNCH.
IN NEW YORK ON N"WHAT
TO READ AND HOW TO READ."

TO READ AND HOW TO READ."
Ancient Manuscripts and Early Print
ing-The Rise and Progress OF tho
"Biack Ert"-Literature Endang.
ered-Ireland tho Refuge OF Learn
ing-The Grand Universities OF France
and Italy-Thsir Eject on Christian
Learning-The Jacobins and Com.
munists Enemies to Social, Mental and
Moral Progressed New View OF the
Massacre of st. Bartholomew-Cathe
rIne de Medieis and Louis Napoleon
Legal, Medical and Mercantile Litera-
ture--Fallacies OF the Modern View OF
Science Inimtcal TO Christtanity.-
Proper Reading for AL CIasses--Read-
ing for Youths--Novos and Poetry.
ESPECIALLY REPORTED FOE THE NEws.l
Bishop Lynch delivered lecture on the
2lst Inst, before very large audience, at
Stelnway Hall, New York City, on the topic
''What to Read and How to Read." The lee
lure was given under the auspices Of the
Xavier Union, and was the first Of course, the
proceeds of which are to aid In establishing
first class Catholic library In that city. The
two following lectures will be delivered by the
Hon. Danl Dougherty, of Philadelphia, on
The subject of "Oratory," and Wendell Philips,
of Boston, on "Daniel O'Connell." On the
platform were numbers Of the prominent citi-
zens of New York and vicinity. The Rt. Rev.
lecturer, on being introduced, spoke as fol-
lows:
ADDRESS OF BISHOP LYNCH.
Ladies and Gentlemen Il regret that med.
ical Injunction iorbids me making use to-
night OF the notes I had prepared tor this lee
ture. must beg you, therefore, to excuse
the desnllory manner In which I shall be
forced to speak. The subject OF our conslde-
ration tonight is, What TO Read and How to
Read.n 1t is simple In It's expression, but 1t
touches question of vital Importance and in
dIcates an immense change which has taken
place In the world. Not many centuries
ago If you had undertaken TO tell one what to
read he might have laughed at you. Printing
bad not then been discovered; the few books
one the result of weeks, months, and per-
haps OF years of labor In some monastery, or
abbey, or religious house OF study and seclu-
sion. Manuscripts were then OF priceless
value. Those who were the fortunate pos
SCISSORS of them guarded them with the great
est care, and handed them down from genera
ton to generation. The kings and princes
of the time treasured them as their moat
sacred possessions, and pawned them 40 they
would the royal jewels OF the crown. And
as Tor students, they had only such manu-
scripts as they could indite as they listened TO
catch The words Of their teachers, or as they
might write by the midnight lamp while por-
Ing over the manuscript loaned 10 them BY
some tellow.student. And yet In those days
the minds of men were active, and craved the
food of Intellectual knowledge as 1t does In
our days. and in default OF books, or perhaps
before they thought OF books, knowledge was
sought through oral instruction: As tar back
as we can go In history, we find schools and
universities filed with learned professors sur
rounded by multltudes oi hearers. the young
and those advanced 10 years together. 30 IL
was In Alexandria, 10 In Athens, 80 In Rome,
and 30 In Assyria and elsewhere, even In the
old heathen days. When Cnrlelianity came
into the world, The church quickly took pos
session of those schools at Alexandria, at As
syria, at Athens and at Rome and elsewhere.
She had her Christian professors, and around
them were gathered hundreds and hundreds
OF auditors, drinking In the words OF Christian
wisdom. Wherever the missionary went,
wherever the church was established, there
was the school established likewise, for Christi
anlty and learning must 60 together: There
came over all Europe the tide of heathen bar
barlsm. Almost everything human was swept
away. Schools and colleges disappeared. but
far OF In the ocean was one Island which that
wave did not touch, where Christian schools
had been established and where they contin-
ued; and the Irish historian loves 10 60 oac6
TO speak CT the great monastic schools OF Ar
magh, Lismore and Bannagher, and many
others Throughout that land; and when, after
The convulsion of Europe, order was being
restored, through the agency OF the church,
schools and many universities were establish
ed, and very many Of The first professors came
from Ireland 10 bring back to the Continent
oil Europe those lessons which their ancestors
had received In more fortunate ages. And
many, Spain, Switzerland, and, should say
above all. In Italy. Universilies were estab-
lished and prospered. They were the institu-
tions OF the wo:ld; princes gave them lands
aud endowments; mobiles LETT them legacieS;
and 1t would be most interesting history IN
the legislation Of the world to follow up and
10 explain the legal rights Of these glits
during the centuries In which they -four
lshed. That Of Paris, for example; the
city ITSELF then not 30 great, was an
island, still called the city. On the north
ern bank were the castles Of the mobiles
and the royal oestle. On The southern bank,
er, there dwelt 10 the Grand University hum
dreds of professors, and these gathered over
thirty thousand students from every nation ID
Europe 1t was municipality, city by Itself,
ruled by their own laws and customs, with
their own guard In thsir own quarter; for
their literature was honored, their unlVerslty
was honored, and no man dare lay q hand on
1t. Four hundred years ago or more, while
that university of Paris was In Its most
flourlshing condition; while its grand library
was gathering manuscripts, while 1ts pro-
iessors were holding forth In all the sciences,
while students from Germany, Italy. Spain,
Portugal, England, Ireland, France, we're all
gathered together In their nationality, and
the young men were seeking, as ason l
stated, each to make bis little man-
uscript OF the lessons he was following,
there appeared gray-oearded aoctGr,
a learned man from Germany. and he orougnt
him with bumber OF manuscripts. IL was
seldom that one man was seen to possess 90
many, and they were all for sale to the pro-
fessors and Weather students at prices that
were lower than ever had been Imagined pos
sible. All the university was speaking OF
Doctor Faust, and all were aglow over his
rich possessions Of manuscripts, and you may
imagine how they were scanned and now
eyes poured over them; but soon they found
strange things. Every mistake that was IN
one was 10 every other-every excellenoy
that was found Ia one copy was found
throughout all the rest-the first word on
every page was alike on all Of them. The
capitals which began with chapters were va
riousy embellished In colors, but ordinarily
every thing was alike. The fourishes mere ,
and there were fac sirnt!es u seemeo ,,i.n Inas
the penman had pressed Win MS pen VIII
the same amount OF Ink ana tne satio
hnl