The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-06-27
WHAT A MAN READS.
1t Is Not the Quantity So Much as the
Quality that Counts.

1t Is Not the Quantity So Much as the
Quality that Counts.
So many men have become eminent,
Notwithstanding the apparent intellec-
tual poverty of their surroundings, that
it is interesting to inquire whether scar
city of books is such an evil as it appears
to be to those who are accustomed to
have large libraries at their command.
A very little reflection serves to show
that it is not the amount that man
reads so much as the depth of his reading
that counts toward his intellectual
development. 1t follows that one who
is really studious may gather from a
few good books more than another
from u whole library. The old analogy
between the mind and the stomach is
always suggested when this subject is
considered. Mental dyspepsia results
from too much reading without assimil-
alton. One who has his appetite we'll
under control may sit at table loaded
with the richest viands, yet be temper
ate, eating Only that which he can thor
oughly digest. But he is under serious
temptation to do otherwise, indulging
his appetite at the expense of his health.
So also the student may be surrounded
by all the wealth of literature modern
libraries afford, and yet Withstand the
temptation to- read everything that
comes in his way, confining himself to
such books as will improve his mind,
and giving to these close study. Bur- he
is tempted at all times to overindulgence
in reading, which is just as surely
injurious to the mind as oyerindulgence
in eating is injurious to the stomach.
The parallelism goes farther. The
poor boy brought up with coarse food,
and no more than enough, sufficiently
clad, yet exposed to the weather, be-
comes a strong, hardy man. The boy
with literary tastes restricted to few
good books, reading them at some
sacrifice an6 obliged to study them
closely because he has nothing else to
turn to, becomes strong mentally. He
has not merely read the books, he has
assimilated the thoughts he has found
in them; they have become a part OF
his mentality. 1t is for this reason that
men who have apparently had few
opportunities for mental culture some.
time surprise the world by their intel.
lectual power, if not by their learning.
The lesson to those who have many
books and many scources of study is
not hard to find. Literary studies
should be carried on deliberately, not
with the purpose of covering great
deal of ground. but with the purpose
of making sure that everything possible
is known of that which has been gone
over. A liberal education in letters
might be obtained from a study of the
Bible alone, A very few books by great
masters would suffice to make one
familiar with all of the principal forms
of literary expression, provided they
were closely studied. Reading in the
ordinary sense, carried on as is custo-
mary in our day, when books are SO
plentiful, means "A clear slsimming over
the pages TO gather the story that is
told or the rr,ncipal thoughts that may
be expressed in the essay r review. II
ends where study should begin. The
poor boy with only half dozen cherished
volumes, who, with that small library,
! educated himself" was in fact forced
to adopt the methods of reading and
| study which are DOW approved hy those
who have given most thought to tho
| subject. baltimore Sun.