The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-03-10
NUuks 40 READ. :
Tho Extraordinary Opinions Of Mr. RuSkin
In Regard to Choice.

Nho ESFhoFulnRiy OplnipnA 0t Mr, kuAkln
in Regard to Choice.
Pail Nal Go;tite,
Several points have been left out Of con-
slderation, 10th by you and Sir John Lub-
beck, in your recent inquiries and advices
concerning books, Especially Sir John, in
his charming description OF the pleasures
of reading for the nineteenth century,
leayes curiously cut Of mention its
miseries, and among the various answers
sent to the Pal Mall GG.eite find nobady
laying down, to begin with, any one canon
or test by which u good book is to be
know from bad one,
Neither does 1t seem to enter into the
respondent minds to ask, In any case,
whom or what the book is to be good for
young people or old, sick or strong, in,
nOCGnt or W0rldly-to make the glddy
sober or the grave gay. Above all, they
do not distinguish between books for the
laborer Nnd the sChoolmRn; and the idea
that any well.CondHCted mortal life could
tind leisure enough 10 read q hundred
books would have kept me wholly silent
on the matter, but that /, was lain, when
you sent inc Sir Johns list, to strike out,
Tor my own pupils sake, the books
would forbid them to be plagued with.
For, Of all the plaques that sihiCt NOR
tally the venom OF bad book to weak
people and the charms OF foolish one to
simple people are without question the
deadliebt; and they are 30 far from being
redeemed by the too imperfect work Ol
the best ;wrlterp, that never would wish
to see child taught 10 read at all unless
the other conditions OF it's education were
alike gentle and iudicIous.
And to put the matter into anything like
traCESble order at all you must first eepa.
rate tho secular from the public. A we'll.
trained gentleman should, OF course,
know the. literature OF his own country
and half q dCzen classics thoroughly,
glanCing at Whatever else he likes; but,
unless he Wishes to travel or to receive
strangers, there is no need for his troub.
ling himself with the languages or lltera-
ture Of modern Europe. l know French
pretty well myself. never recollect the
gender Of anything and don't know more
than the present Indicative OF any verb
but with dictionary can read q novel
and the result Is my wasting great
deal Uf time over Scribe, Dumas and Ga.
boriau, and becoming a weaker and NJ orc
tO0Ilsh person III all manner OF ways
therefor, French scientific books are,
however, out and on! the best In the
world and OF course II q man is to be sci
entitiC he should know both French and
Italian. The best German books should
at once be translated into French, for the
worlds sake, by the French Academy;
Mr.. Lowell is altogether right in pointing
out that nobody with respect for his eye.
eight can read them in the original.
l have no doubt there Ia a great deal OF
literature in the East, In which people
who live IN the East, or travel there, may
be rightly interested. | have read three
or four pages Of the translation OF the
Koran, and never want to read any more,
tho Arabian Nights many times over, and
much wish now, had been better en-
ployed.
As for advice to scholars In general |
do not see how any modest scholar could
venture to advise another. Every man
has his own field, aud can only by his
own Eense discover what Is good for him
In II. will venture, however, TO protest,
somewhat sharply, against Sir Johns per.
mission to read any book fast. To do any.
thing iast-that iB to say at a greater ratio
than that at which It can be done we'll
Is a folly; but Of all iolies reading fast is
the least excusable. You miss the points
Of book by doing so, aud misunderstood
the rest.
Leaving the scholar to his discretion,
and turning TO the public, they fall at first
into the broad classes OF workers and
idlers. The whole body OF modern Circu.
lating library literature Is produced for
the amusement OF the families 30 daintily
pictured in PHnCh-mamma lying OH
sofa showing her pretty feet-and the
children delightfully."- teasing the COVER.
ness, and nurse, and maid, and footman-
the close OF the day consisting Of state din.
ner and reception. And, Sir John recon-.
mends these kind OF people TO read Homer,
Danto and Epictetus Surely the most
benehCent aud innocent Of all hooks yet
produced for them ls the Book OF Nonaene,
with its oorrollary carols 2-inimitable and
refreshing, and perfect Id rythm. ! really
dom know any author to whom am half
30 grateful, for my idle self, az Edward
lIeHI' buhll pun Alh Llpb VI my uunuLeN
authors,
Then there used to be Andersen, but he
has been minced up, and washed up, and
squeezed up, and rolled out, till one knows
him no more. Nobody names him, Of the
omnilegent judgesj but pure edition Of
him, Eayly illustrated, would be treasure
anywhers--perhaps even 10 the workers,
whom 1t Is hard to please.
But / did not begin this talk to recon.
mend anything, but to ask you to give mo
room TO answer questions, Of which re-
Ceiye many by letter, why elEaCed such
and such books from Sir Johns list.
/, Grote's History Of Greece."-Ba-
cause there is probably no commercial cs-
Establishment, between Chaiirg Cross and
the Bank, whose head clerk could not
write better one, II he had the vanity to
waste lis time on II.
., 0Coniesaions Of 81, Augustine. BE.
cause religious people nearly all think too
much about themEelyest aud there are
many saints whom II 10 much more desira-
bic to know the history OIL st. Patrick 10
begin wlth.-espeCiAlly in present times.
.. John Stuart Mill.-Sir John Lubbock
ought 10 have known that his day was
over.
i. Charles Kingsley.-Hpcauso his sen.
timent Ia false, and bis tragedy frlghtiul.
People who buy cheap clothes are not
punished In real life by catching leversi
social inequalities are not to be redressed
by tailors falling In love with bishops
daughters, or gatnekeepera with tqulres'
and the story Of "Hypatia" Is the most
chastity In Christian Tradition, and should
forever have been left Ia SILENCE.
8. Darwln.-BeCause II iseVery mans
duty 10 know what be Is, and not TO think
| u iL.n ntnlhNun Id mnn mt lhn nkhlnInn