South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1883-12-07
THE READING OF GOOD
BOOKS.
Advice to American College
Boys by Lord Chief Justice
CCleridQa.

tuat you attend caretuIiy apt fall iit.lly
% your prescribed c,urse. And then,
outside OF your studies, let me ernest
~ recommend To you uiat you learn by
heart such passages as strike you Us
great or beautiful in the best poetry or
prose. Firs'. Grsi a wayf, Shakes pcare,
an inexhacs,itle s,orehC use of wisdom
instruction und exquisite die ior. Then
VI illor, one OF the best masters for az
orator. Mr.. B,i- hit 90 not say the
greotest oIa'or Of our generation, bnt II
there be a greater orator l never heard
hin-to!d me that lac had built inlself
up upon Millor, and, II you watch his
words and the structure OF his sentences
rs nc speak, you Will see how they are
peryGted by The So r:t OF This great poe,
aud how, though lie does rot initiate
Milton. TIC speaks alter Milton. Then
" ords.o!th-anh If I have any fault o
tind with America it Is Ina, fear GU
40 not do Wordsworth qui the honor
" hich he deseTves-the poet OF nature
ahd OF lofty spiritual thought.
And then there - ono who wrote too
ii.te, bu5 every wctd lie iii | write is
precious, whose poetry L Want yeu TO
got hY heart I; and that is Gray. There
Is IN him ibe perfection Of dictioD and
melody Then poet whom admired
very much in college, AMI lave always
duifed rs pee, though there was
much in the life cf TIE mrr, and
some things in hts wIitings, which are
| ny no means TO &c commended Shelley
Then the poet Gil whom .he best suisse
qaeut poetry has been built, the tue
master Of Tennyson, a man OF The rich
est fancy and uost exquisite dic.ion-
John Keats. be2 you learn by heart h s
Hyperion, his Ode ON Grecian Urn,'
! and Ode 10 Nightingale You may
be surprised at the name l shall select
from your american poets when tell
! yea to learn Bryant. | do not say
! Longfellow, because, although he is i
sweet and noble and delightful poet, he
Is not American--I mean that his poet
nv might ju,t "a we'll have been written
! France as IN America, bat Mr.. Brvant's
poetry il full Of the charac! erslics OF
his own country, as we'll as noble, natur.
al aad lTNigosatlng.
! And now for the prose writer's | sba'l
! show NY own ldiusyncrasy when | name
at the head OF my list Lord Boiling broke
as a writer o! tho most perfect English,
rising a. times ~ q nervous, sinewy vlU-
| quenCe and falling with hIs subjects but
never beloN the tone of The converse
tion OF u high broi gentleman. Mex, I
| place the greatest advocate since Cicero
ami say thia even RENE mberiug your
own Webster-Lord Erskine. You vii!
! fad nowhere better English than in some
O.! his senten es. Then Burke, OF whom
| Erskinc himself spoNe so highly. Then
| Hooker, whom | should not recommend
! ID be real as q whole, except by thco-
! Logical students, bat lie has written
| some passages which cannot he surpass
ed. Then HAT great man, Lord Bacon.
with words OF exac;est choice and pro-
| foundrst wisdom. whom canno. forbear
| quoting, though he will make my own
/ word. poor AID worthless in the ,m-
! rarlsou.
And mex, shall name 4 man who bad
great influence upon ua al Oxford, ard
NO, in spite OF his change Of religion,
iemaine TO lie one Of the greatest II lstsfs
o. English, Cardinal Newman. You do
not know the foil extent OF the resources
OF "ur language, II you have net read
sD'nr of The best works OF Newman.
\ net now ! take some Two Of your Own
writer. Ftst. Daniel Wtbs;er, q man
the majesty Of whose presence ! well
remember Tor he visi,c.; NY father and
| had the honor OF having him take mo
by the hand anti o. speaking to hiU, or
rather Of being spoken 10 by him as II
boy, learned many passages from hIm
il nay bovhCod, which | remember sill
from an ola volume edition Of lis
speeches, for tue larger col ection, ,dt-
ell by Mr.. Everett, had not yc. been
Published. Study Webster. And next
Nill mention your greatest writer, ne
master OF IN exquisite and an absolute
" perfect style, Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Then TO name the great Greek an"
Latin MASTER | 20 not know how far
! YOU s'u " them here. but was brought
up upon them. aud q great past Of the
/ literature which ! committed TO mem
I Org in my youth wc3 from their wri'-
I ing5. 1uerc Nas q time, doubtless,
/ when lhete were Too exclusively studied.
. Doubtless. too. they were second rate
/ third rr,o and even fourth rate authors
who wrote in those languages, and whose
works have ben collected and comment
cd upon by c'le litors. Iub ps MASTERS
7 of li'oatGrt, lne truly great classic
writer's are simply perfect. And Of
those OF whom YOU SHOULD study and
learn bY heart sill name five: FRS,
certainly, Homer; second. a. certainly,
| Virgil. then l. rides ttec Ca'u''u- !;
then Horace
cannot zoo earnestly recommend
your arIurnuug yourselves with good
books. They arc lhe best Of compan-
/ ious. II sickness. 10 misfortune, ~ spr-
rnv, IN ,leepiess nights anil days cfpaiu
. YOU viii dpj your memories Of great
+ aui wholesome literature constant
solaco AMI rCr'cshwon' And, n5 man
/ is known hy the company he keeps s'i!I
more truly is hc known bY the books bc
/ rca 's anil loves. Rcai ouly tic best
/ books. and never read bal books. Good
. books will ucrve Won f,r tho work -- lao