Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-11-13
THE BESr RUUkS
VIVA, TO 10 with Yourself In the Long winter
Evenings


From the Christian non.
Now that the long evenings have come
again, numerous requests are received tor
lists oi good books for home reading Such
requests, however often repeated, are pleas
ant indications OF the growing taste, not only
Tor reading, but for reading of q thoroughly
healthy and sound kind. There is a chronic
outbreak from time to time Of lamentations
over the decay OF literary taste; people have
ceased TO care for books of the first class, say
these modern Jeremlahs: they read only
trash. There is probably as much truth In
al this sind of pessimstic depreciation of the
age as there is IN the continually repeated
declaration that sound living and sound
doctrine are decsying, and that society is
running down hill ss rapidly as possible 1t
Is very diverting to follow this shallow and
melancholy stream of mournful DESPAIR AS 1t
| flows through history one finds its course in
every age without the least difficulty, but as
| ne gets further and further from the present
| he hnds less and less of the "good old times"
| so often aud so ignoranty exploited.
As matter OF fact, more copies OF standard
authors are sold to-day than ever before in
| the history OF the world, and more people are
| reading these writers intelligeutly aud with
| deep and increasing enjoyment, The stu
| dents OF Dante in this country, for instance
! are to be numbered by the hundred where
| they were formerly numbered by the score
| Shakes peare has a multitude OF lovers in the
| most remote and secluded corners of the
| land, who hnd in lifelong devotion to the
| great dramAtist those ioys ana that stimulus
| which their meager surroundings cannot
| yield. 50 wiies pread i the desire for
| know, ledge lu spite Of the apparent material
| ism oi American life, that one is never sur.
| prIsed 10 lind a mau in some remote Western
| town who knows Plato by heart. or miner
in some wild camp who carries the laid IN
| MS pocket Nothing was wider the mark in
| Mr.. Grant Aliens humCrUusly inapt de.Crip
Ion OF American scenery, reCsntly published
IN the fU.t MAJ Gf-ctte, than the statement
that scholars and men of culture do not live
| outside Of cities in this country. II Mr.
| Allen had made a misstatement OF fart, for
instance, in his interesting " Life OF Darwin -
ne Would very likely have had his attention
called 10 the error 10y some resident Of q
remote Western town OF which he had never
heard even 50 much as the name.
| II j. very easy 10 say that people do not
read Shakespeare and Milton and Dryden as
| much as formerly, but there is no evidence
10 sustain such statement These writer have
always been more talked about than read,
and that state OF affairs probably continues
10 this day but II the mum Der OF editions
| printed, copies sold, references in current
| literature, calls al libraries afford any means
| OF Judgment, there are certainly more readers
Of the best writers to-day than ever before,
ana the numoer j. steadily increasing. Il il
| true there Is more worth ess reading matter
| city 0t what Is known as the reading public
in the way OF absorbing trivial and trashy
novels Is apparently unlimited. But it
ought not to be forgotten that ihe people who
| read thlS class OF books never used to read at
| all, Such books do not belong to literature,
and have not taken its place. They are
SIMPLY form OF amusement. a diversion, a
resource against eHHuL They are read A.
tapestry used to be wOrked-by the ward
and simply to Kill time II the sale OF this
enormous mRSs of books of the moment
seriously Iuieriered with the sale Of books of
the age or Of all ages there would certainly
| be good cause for misgiving But as a mat
ter oi Tact 1t does not f; the two are distinct,
and the readers and students OF the great
| OOOks are neither confused nor swept away
by the Hood oi contemporary publ ,ati0ns
lhere are more OF them every year, aud they
are probably OF 4 Stronger lore than their
predecessors, because they need to discrim-
mate more iutelligently between that which
Is OF momentsry and that which is OF per.
| ennIal interest and value.
| All persons read, and ought ct times to
read, Tor amusement and rest; but habitual
reading ought always to be matter of seri.
| Gus ana intelligent purpose. The reading
| haolt Is an Immense and eXhaustlble re-.
| source and no wise man will form il hastily Y
| or couhrm 1t without taking into account it,
| fuli slgnincance Tne first tE'lg which one
| needs TO learn who is beginning to read
| widely and often is to discriminate between
| the best and the second best books and IA
| select the best, and the best only, rOntipu.
| ally. Never waste on an inferior book the
| time and strength that would make YOU
| master Of the work OF some great mind, and
enrich yon by contact with some great life.