The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-12-22
sunday School Novels.

The reading of fiction by young chill
,lren has always been condemned by
thoughtful men and women. Perhaps
ptous novel is not quite so pernicious as
one which only tells unreasonable stories
of miraculous heroes and heroines, who
are ordinary sinners, but still it is
novel; it has the effect to unduly excite
the mind; it draws pictures of imagin-
airy beings who do not live, never did
live, and in the nature of our human ma
ture, never can live. No greater harm
can be done to child than to destroy
in his or her mind, the love of the plain,
simple, unvarnishcd truth. Novel read
ing is nothing else than mental dissipa-
Cion.. Il as sOrely undermines and IN
fits the mind for the every day work of
life as does the constant drinking of in
toxicating liquors the body for useful
and constant manual labor; nay, more
and worse, il undermines and weakens
the moral faculties, and units one to
meet and resist the temptations of so
ciety and life.
1t isa matter of surprise that minis
tiers, sunday-school superintendent and
teachers will permit trashy, dangerous
novels to be placed in the hands of the
children entrusted to their care in the
Sabbath School. Many of the books in
the so-caiied Sunday School libraries are
simply the worst character of cheap fic-
tion, without even the one quality of be-
ing written in good English Miserable
stuff, taken from B0nner's abominable
Ledger, worked over and ''chawed up"
into a wretched Hash" is placed every
Sunday into the hands of young girls
and boys,to be read as religious htera-
ture, and pious, we'll mcaning men and
wemen all over the country are cncour-
aging this thing! The idea seems to be
that the easiest, cheapest and quickest
way to do thing is always the best
way. Children must be trained to stay
atshOme on Sunday and read religious
books; but children are restless crea-
tures, who naturally love to run in the
bright sunshine and to play among the
flowers, or in the white snow. Ordinary
books are too dull to draw the little
creatures from these natural sports; but
positively they must not play on the
Sabbath day, or the bad Man" will get
thfIhl And so, the religious novel is
written, a wild, exciting story of mirac-
ulous people; sometimes a five year Old
boy or girl, who breaches a sermon more
f'tl of learning and thought than could
be-wTitten by half the licensed minis
tiers in the land, and then the poor little
mOnstrosity gently folds its hands, tum-
bles over and dies And this stuff, with
out one single redeeming quality, is
called religious literaturei 1t is only
m1schieyous, and must do great harm to
the minds of the rising generation.
II does seem that the stories Of che Ri
BILE, told in the simple, grand language
of the inspired writers, is better reading
for our children than any fiction could
possibly be. A person, whether old or
young, a'itl1 a heaIthfni mind, stands in
no need Of fiction to aid them in receiY- |
ing and aigesting the great truths Of |
Ii0ly Writ. The plain, uRvarnislaed his
tory, as laid down IL the Old Testament |
and the touching story OF Jesus Of Naza-
reth astold In the New, Is far better and |
granoer and nobler than any story a hui |
ln5R being could invent. however in I
gcuious THAT ilHmau being may be.