The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-02-10

LIZ" Shsi hAAA6
chilled from the rubbish and worth
less debris and sailfully grouped In
pleasing variety and attractive or
der.
This desire for the picture' que,
the new and the marvellous, is as"
simulated with the very life of the
individual, as the perfume with the
rose or the green with The lea. 1t
cannot be eradicated, but it should
be cultured and sanctified. 1t can
not be smothered; but it can be
controlled and disciplined and d.
rected into pure and legit mate
channels. If allowed to riot unre-
strained, the appetite will become
morbid and feed upon foul and
poisonous materials. The love OF
fiction is one of the most powerful
passions of our nature, and if it be-
comes debased the lapse will be dis
astreus, and, perhaps, even fa'al to
moral rectitude.
Among the products OF literature
fiction is a staple article; as intel
lectual food 1t is not merely a condI-
ment or luxury, but to many per-
sops, necessity. In its adaptation
to certain ends it is indispens able;
and in meeting the require ment9 of
our common nature nothing else can
take its place. 1t is, theief're, tue
part of wisdom, and the duty Of
conssrvators Of morality, not to pro-
hibit and suppress the com modify,
but to insist that it shall lie pure
and unadulterated.
Efforts are often made by loving
parents and well>mesnipg tutors to
discourage the love f, r fiction in the
minds OF our youth. This is right
and commendable, where wisdom
dictates counsel, and where the aim
is not to destroy natural and en-
bsllishing quality of the soul, but to
foster it into healthy and vigorous
bloom by a liberal supply Of the
purest and most suitable products
Of the art. Rig d prescription will
disgust and be misinterpreted; but
wise and generous liberality will
win the affections Of youth.
Abstract philosophy and argue
mentative discussions will not supp
ply the place of fiction. The sciences
are too husky and matter Of
fact. And the fine arts have an
odor of work about them
as well as paint. The study Of mu~
sic is hard for the brain, and makes
theE back and fngrs ache as well as
the head. These are some of the
substantial and necessary pursuits
of unrelen ting toll, and Will always
have the attention OF the industrious
and aspiring; but they should be
seasoned witch the spice OF the rO-
and relieved by the recrea,
ton of sprightly fiction.
Fiction is a splendid supplement
to the study OF secular history. His
Tory deals principa ~ in generalities
and mOnotonOus similsrities. There
is too little OF detail toll and indisidu-
Atty in historical narrative 30 sat
sly a romantic taste. But fiction
delights in detail; in minute and
lively descriptions of persons, dress,
nsunera and private life. a vast
f gmOst Interesting and
valuable It's or Cal narr Ative, not
found in secular histories, has been
given to the world through the me-
lium of fiction.
Should ethics be recommended as
/ remedial substitute for the love OF
lotion, the substitute will prove to
70 a friendly ally and feed the fire
t IL designed to quench. The re-
traints of lmoral precept, and the |
purifying influences Of religion,
brighten the keen perceptions of the |
eul; and then, IS In mirror from |
which the dust has been removed,
deal images are more clear
md vivid. Hsd John Bun
AN remained a profigate
le would never have written
lis world-renowned novel. It was
he afflatus of religious ardor that
reated Paradise Lust aud Homer's |
lad. And the New Testament
sill be searched in vain for loftier
IDEAS ct rectitude, or puier rules Of
morality than those which shine
rom almost every page of Fene.
on's Telemachus. Poetry Is tooex.
ravagantly ideal, and its images
nd coloring lack the substance and
which are the beauty and
harm OF fiction. The jmages Of
lotion are real characters. They
i've and breathe and talk; and we
orm close and friendly acQuaint-
nee with them, and hold them in
herjshed renem branee as boon
There Is more in fc-
ION than fction.