Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-02-28
A Talk About Reading.

You should treat book as you
would a person with whom you are
talking for information; that is,
question it, read ii over and turn back
and try to get at the meaning; if the
book itself does not answer the ques-
tions you raise, go to some other
book, ask dictionary or encyclope-
dia for an explanation. And if
book treated in this way does not
teach you anything or does not in
spire you, it is of no more service to
you than the conversation of dull,
ignorant person. Lust used the word
"inspire." You do not read all books
for facts or for information merely,
but to be inspired, to have your
thoughts lifted up to noble ideas, to
have your sympathies touched, your
ambition awakened to do some
worthy or gaeat thing, to become a
man or woman of character and con-
sideration in the world. You read
the story ola fine action or heroic
character-the death of Socrates, or
the vayage of Columbus, or the sacri-
flee of Nathan Hale, or such a poem
as "The Lady of the Lake"-not for
information only, but to create in
you a higher ideal of life, and to give
you sympathy with your fellows and
with noble purposes. You cannot
begin too young to have these ideas
and these purposes, and, therefore,
the best literature in all the world is
the best tor you to begin with. And
you will find it the most interesting.
Reading, then, is the easiest way OF
being entertained, and it is the most
convenient way of getting into your
mind what you want to know. l
do not think it is very serviceable to
make list of books for children to
read. No two have exactly the same
aptitudes, tastes, or kinds of curiosity
about the world. And one story or
bit of information may excite the in~
terest of a class in one school, or the
children in one family, which will
not take at all with others.
The one thing is to take hold some
where, and to begin to use the art of
reading to find out about things as
you use your eyes and ears. l knew
a boy, a scrap of lad, who almost
needed a high chair to bring him up
to the general level of the dining
table, who liked to read the encyclo-
pedia. He was always hunting round
in the big books of the encyclopedia
books about his own size-fOr what
he wanted to know. He dug in it as
another boy would dig in the woods
for sassafras root. 1t appears that
he was interested in natural history
and natural phenomena. He asked
questions of these books, exactly as
he would ask living authority, and
kept at it till he got answers. He
knew how to read. Soon thai
boy was an authority on earth.
quakes. He liked to have the con.
versation at table turn on earth
quakeS, for then he seemed to be the
tallest person at the table. | suppose
there was no earthquake anywhere o
any importance but that he could tel
where it occurred and what damage
it did, how many houses it buried
and how many people it killed, anC
what shape it left the country
which had been shaken. From
that he went on to try to discOve
what caused these disturbances, ant
this led him into other investigations
and at last into the study of electrici
ty, practical as Cell as theoretical
He examined machines and invented
machines, and kept on reading, ant
presently he was an expert in cleo
tricity. He knew how to put il
wires, and signals, and bells, and t
do a number of practical and usefu
things, and almost before he was abb
to enter the high school, he had
great deal of work to do in the city
and three or four men under him
These men under him had not rea,
as much about electricity as he had
An active minded boy or girl ca
find out great deal about the worl
we live in by the habit of attention
by looking round; and he or she Cal
get much inspiration from the exam
pie of good men and women. Blu
this knowledge can be added to in
definitely by reading, and people wi
read if they have a genuine desire t
know things, and are not, as we say
"too lazy to live"
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