Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-10-27
F'ort-strcct Church sorpicc.

Sunday morning large audience was
present. Pastor Cruzan preached from
Tim. iv S, Make full proof of thy
ministry" plain, forcible, sermon on
Practice as Profession, in which he
showed that God and this age demand
of Christians not a mere profession of
religion but new and Christ-like life.
In the evening the theme of the SER
mon was "Some useful hints on Read
ing and Books" The text was Tim.
3:r5. "From child thou hath known
the holy scriptures" etc. the preacher
said in substance We have in limo
thy evidence of the transforming power
of a single book. And history is full of
like instances No man can read book
without being made better or worse by
it There is no such thing as neutrality
either in men or books. In these days
when "of the making of books"-good,
bad, and indifferent---there is literally
"no end,' some hints on Reading and
Books may be helpful to all, especially
to the young.
First, ther, as to Reading :: Be sure
to set apart sometime every day for
reading something of more value than
the newspapers. Save those little time
filings; known as "spare minutes"
Own the books you read. To get the
real value Of a book 1t must be yours,
so that you can mark it, and write
"catch-words" on the margin. 8 Read
with attention. Passive reading is but
little better than not reading at all. a.
Digest what you read. Reading" as
Bacon says, ''makes full man," but
mere fulness without digestion brings
dyspepsia, not strength. S. Read with
independent Judgment, and critical,
but not captious, spirit. Charles Butler
is right when he says, "No man is wiser
for his books until he is above them"
Second "What shall we read ?"
"Noveis ?" Yes, with discrimination.
1t is question which shows the least
sense, the man who e0ndemns all
novels, or the man who reads all
without selection, No one can lay
out course of reading which
would be at all helpful to an indis-
criminate audience, for the good rea-
son that no two persons need the same
course. Only hints can be given, by
way of suggestion I. Either alone, or
with some friend in whose judgement
you have confidence, lay out a course
Of reading for yourself. The plan should
be broad one, covering years, and
there should be no feeling of haste to
finish it, neither should it be slavishly
followed. 2. 1t is impossible to read
all the good books. Selection is inevi-
table. 8. There should be no haste to
read the new books. a. Choose books
Of acknowledged worth and reputation.
| S. Read and thoroughly master all the
books which relate to your own trade,
business, or profession. 6. After you
have mastered your own calling, and
got from books all the help in them they
can give you, then begin to read where
your ignorance most distresses you, or
where you are most interested. Begin .
Read Systematically, and keep at it.
Remember there is one book which
you cannot not afford to neglect "If
you were doomed to spend the rest Of
your life on an uninhabited island"
said student to great thinker who
was not Christian, "and you could
take but three books with you what
three would you choose ?"
The great man thought for a moment,
and then said reverently al would
choose the Bible, SHAKESPEARE, our Mil
tons Paradise Lost; and though my
years should reach fourscore | should
not be able to exhaust them /"
"Read to me-" said Walter Scott,
just before he died to his son-in-law.
"From what book p "There is but
one--the Bible i"
The man who owns only bible and
reads it, and loves it, has library that
reaches from earth to Heaven