Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-10-11

Fse Methodist
Do not lay out in detail "courss
of reading, Probshiy you wouiu
not follow it, aud Che moral efiec' =.
making 4 plzn and giving i up =
injurior.s. But there Is another. sss
so,. for my advice. When you - :.
.om ~ interested in asuhject, then L
.ha time to follow 1t up, ana leao
everything you can get hold oiscou'
Il. what you read when thus kes as
" interested you will rememeer ana
- your own, and that is the SCI
cres Of acquiring knowledge; ms.uas
. thing when your mind il aWaas
and eager toknow more. soms.. ~.
If !, leads you away from the DOCS .
with which you sci out; and u !.
sends yoa to another Subject 70 .ns,
vou never again open sherorigina'
hook. 90 much the better; yon are
eager, you are learning, and Ine 90,
Iect OF reading Is 10 learn, NOS W se'
through certain number OF oooAs,
"what we read with Inclination
said wise old DR.. johnson, makes =
strong impression. What we ieau
as task, is OF little use"
wnon you read q book thai in'ei'
es,s you, you naturally wish to know
more OF its author. That Is the Tune
10 make his acquaintance. head MS
life. or account Of him 10 an encycio-
pedia: look over his other VIKINGS,
and become familiar with MIN.
Then you have really added some
thing to your knowledge. II you
fettered yourself with course,
you could not do this, and before you
finished book, you would have for
gotten the special points which IN
tere-ted you as you went through.
You think that history is dull read
ing, perhaps. I'm afraid that Il De-
cause you have dull way OF reading
II. not realizing that ii Is q series OF
true and wonderful stories OF mems
lives, beyond comparison more mar
yeIous and interesting than the ficti-
.ious lives we read In novels. The
irst pages are usually dry, | admit,
md I advise you not to look anthem
Ill you feel a desire to do 30; but
elect some person, and follow out
he story of his life, or some event,
md read about that, and j assure
,ou, you will find new life In the
I'D books.
But there are other objects In
which you may be interested. You
wish first 10 know about the few
,reat books and authors generally
and referred to a. the foun-
.ain. eads OF the worlds literature.
1t Is impossible, ia little talk like
this, to give definite directions for
a knowledge OF these.
Needs vary In almost every case,
and book that might wisely be Sc
lected for one girl, might be a very
poor choice for another. Almost
every one can turn to some Judlcions
relative or friend who, at least, can
start her In good direction. Once
started, the way Is delightful and
easy. There are many entrances In
TO the great temples Of literature
you need not go in by all Of them.
There are many we'll known and
often quoted authors, concerning
whom you will wish to be informed,
even ifyou never read their works.
You want to know when they lived
and what they wrote. The world
of books Is too large for any one to
know thoroughly; you must select
from the wide range what suits yeur
taste, and be content to have an out
side, or title-page, knowledge Of the
rest.
Above all, in your reading you
want to avoid becoming narrow and
one-sided. Read both sides Of
question. If you read a culogistic
biography OF person, read also, If
possible, one written from an oppo-
site standpoint. You will find that
no one Is wholly bad, nor wholly
good, and you will grow broad in
your views.