The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1880-06-11

which beat for The highest good Of its ma
ton, and which III It's tslagnanimity regu
lated tie feverish pulsasions of al Greece,
that heart which inspired tlle unsatis6edI
soul with the sweet hobs of future happi-
ness and immortality. Should his voice.
rise out of the ton1bs of heathendom,
Justly would It rebpke the blindness Of
modem skeptieisn aid teach purer
morality than Is now feing installed into
many Of the youth Of Our land. Il would
put to shame the dsflers of society
whether.he Be 4 social parasite under the.
garb of responsibility ~ a smiling villain
with base intent. Would that il might
rise to-day in itsstrutli and majesty as #
was heard mere than two housand years
ago to teach the ways IF sobriety, hon
esty and truth.
Another evil which AS constantly grow
ing among American youth is1the read
ing Of trifing, low and trashy novels.
NoveIreading. ii itself IS not always an
unqualified evil All fiction IS hot neces-
sarilyt false, some Of tie best thoughts Of
the best thinkers have been expressed
under the guise Of fetfbn. Still the pain.
fill fact remains that there sare thousands
Of sensational novels, abroad. and more
coming forth from thG slums and pits Of
authorship to corrupt the minds and NOR
ais the youth. The period Of youth IS the
formative period. The mind grows upon
Whatit feeds, and 50 long as the youthful
mind receives false impressions and silly
and absurd notions Of life from the con-
Eliminating and vitiatirsg influence Of base
literature, 50 long will many 81 the young
menand women Of or land live in idle
ness with corrupt tastes and polluted
minds. It IS the reading of such, light
and sensational literature thatmakes our
boys and our girls, our young men and
our young women, lfght-minded, weak
sWiffed and false-hearted. In the low and
trashy novel turks 4 demon as.subtle and
dangerous asthe serpent in the wine-cup..
The first poisonous draught serves asa.
gentle stimulus for THE brain. Each sue
ceeding one increases this effect, till it is
untitled for sober thought, andHat last we
see a giddy, silly, sentimental and profit.
gate young man 81 woman, with no
strength Of characte1 no natural ideas in
thehead, and no genuine lpvein the heart
AAffsy the day soon dawn when thezdark
Cloud st base literature which bewilders
Die minds and darkens The souls Of the.
American youth shall Be lifted from our
land TO let in the glorious sunlight Of a
literature which shall eapse thsir grow
ING minds 70 unfold in an their purity
md vieoh .
The customs Of past nations serve. as
the. standard Of THEM intellectual status,
the index to their honesty. and the fair
measure Of their morality. The monument
tai record ofthe past tells us this. AS we
wander through the resting placeaof past
ages, down the longtime Of monuments
erected to the memory Of nations, we
read their Inscriptions, we ask; were they
intellectual, were they true, were they
moral9 We cannot: now pause to read
the recorded inscriptions Of past ages, or
even to survey the monumental remains
5of$ the nations Of antiquity. But let US,
rather, for a 1nonlent turn bur thoughts
and imaginations TOWARD the fast coming
future There We ae monument which
is beginning to rise above the horizon Of
future years like a coral island out of the
ocean. As truly As each little coral insect
helps 70 buildup Thy island, So truly does
each Of our youths AIDA stone to the
monument Of the American Republic, and
son our monument Isl going up and our in
scriptions being Written thereon. Are
our youth doing good workP Are they
intellectual, are they true, are they moral?
If these three qualities are blended in the
life Of each youth, % will they be ii the
life Of our nation, and in time therewill be
serected a monument whose summit shall
shine with the brightness Of eternal day.
a monument which shall rise in al the
perfection Of GrecIan beauty, and over
whose broad height the. oceanswave Of
time shall never sweep, but far up on its
everlasting column, when the last linger-
ing ray Of the glorious sin Of our eiviliza-
ton shall have set behind BE- the waves Of the