News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-06-12
BAD BOOKS OF THE DAY.
TALMAGE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY
ABOUT THEM.
And Also About Their Evil Influence upon
the Minds of the People.

the Minds of the People.
In the Brooklyn Tabernacle DIR. Tai
mage Sunday morning spoke of indie
cent literature. His text was from
Reconsideration making books there
is no end" If true so many years B. c.,
said DIR. Talmage. how much more true
so many years A. D. A book 1t took
centuries to make it. Thank God for
books. The printing press is the
mightiest power for good or evil. Take
the one fact that from the daily press of
New York there goes forth $50, 1000
copies a day. How far it reaches, the
influence of the American printing press.
I have an idea that it is to be the chief
agency for the evangelization of the
world and that the last great battle
is not to be fought with swords, but
with type. A gospelized printing press
crushing out a pernicious literature.
The greatest blessing that has come to
this world since Jesus Christ came is
good journalism, and the worst scourge
is unclean journalism. You must apply
the same law to the book as to the news
paper. Under unclean literature tens of
thousands have gone down. The longest
not long enough to gather up the indie
cent books and periodicals that have
been published in the United States Tor
the last twenty years.
Is there nothing we can do to stop
this evil? The first thing for us to do
is to keep ourselves and our families
aloof from Ubiquitous books and news
papers. The question is asked, us 1t
right to read novels ?" Well, have to
say there are good novels that make the
heart purer, but I believe that three
fourths of the novels of the time are
pernicious and baleful. First, stand
aloof from all books that give false pic
lures of human life. Life is not all q
tragedy, nor all farce. He who is
confirmed novel reader is untitled for
the duties of life which is tremendous
discipline where everything great is
achieved by hard, unceasing, persever-
ing labor. Also stand aloof from books
which have some good but large adj
mixture of evil. I don't care how good
you are you cannot afford to read bad
book. Also stand aIoof from books
which corrupt the imagination, the
polished literature which arouses all the
bad passions of the soul. Years age
there came forth French authoress
under the assumed name of George
Sand. She wrote in a style, ardent,
eloquent, horrible in its suggestiveness,
damnablein its results. Her influence has
not yet relaxed, and all the bad books
we have got from Paris within the pas
five years have been only copies of tha
woman's iniquity. Sold by Christian
booksellers. Under the nostrils of you
cities there is to-day fetid, reekint
literature, enough to poison all the foun
tains of virtue and smite your sons an(
: daughters as with the wings of destroy
ing angel. If the evil goes ON there vii
be for your children funeral of body
( mind and soul-three funerals in on
2 day. There is no evil that compare
with it. They are going down by tn
millions, the victims of bad books an
e newspapers. Accused are the book
g which make impurity decent and Grim
4 honorable and hypocrisy noble. Y
o authors who write them, We publisher
n who print them, We booksellers who dis
: tribute them shall be cut to pieces,
n not by an aroused public sentiment
e then by almighty God, who will swee
n YOU to the lowest pit of perdition, y
r, murderers of souls Oh, stand aloe
If from such Internal literature.
}. must in this connection call to yor
d mind the ubiquitous pictures of our TIM
r. Our cities to-day are cursed with ev
d pictures. These death warrants are c
n every street. Oh, young man, do NJ
d pick up these poisonous adders
lie man is never better than the pictures
at loves to look at. If to-day l shall hay
t. shown you that there is something fl
us to do to stem the tide of perniciol
a literature I shall have done q work
l. shall not be ashamed of in that df
IN which shall try every mans work. X
Sc member that one column of good reat
q ing may save a soul and one colun
(, of bad reading may destroy it. G
r home to-day and examine your ibrari
and the stand where your books al
1t newspapers are, and if you find anythir
d there that cannot stand the test of IL
. Judgment day do not give it to other
that would despoil them. Do not sell
le that would be getting the price of bloc
"a But kindle fire on your kitchen hear
IN or in your back yard, put the poison i
N and keep stirring the blaze until ever
Us thing has gone to ashes from preface