The evening times., 1899-09-04
HARMFUL LITERATURE.
Rev. Lucien Clarke breaches on Ag-
nOstic and Other Publications..

nOstic and Other Publications.
The evil which has been wrought in the
world by the printing, dissemination, and
reading of pernicious literature was the
subject of a sermon delivered last evening
by the Rev. Lucien Clarke d. D.. at Foun-
dry NJ. E. Church Tie topic of the dis
course was "A Bonfire of Books" and
was based upon the text taken from Acts
xix:19: Many of those who used glorious
arts brought forth their books and burned
them" In all ages of the world. the
speaker said the glorious arts have played
a conspicuous part in the world. II was
so in the time of Moses and Paul, and
even now. The subject, DR.. Clarke said,
was suggested to him by a story he read
in the newspapers some time ago OF the
conversion of an agnostic who resided
in Toledo, who, after he came TO believe in
the Christian faith announced that on
certain afternoon he would make bon
fire OF all the books OF his library which
opposed the Christian belief.
During the time of the apostles. DR..
Clarke said, there were many magicians
and others who followed in their wake
as they went about the country healing and
performing miracles, who claimed 10 have
the power TO do the same as the preach
ers. The secrets by means of which the
magicians proclaimed they could perform
miracles, were contained in books. which
they guarded with greatest care. The
magicians were finally converted to Chris
tianity and decided TO burn all the books
which contained reference TO their secret
or glorious arts. 1t was of this occasion
that the Apostle Paul used the words of
the text.
In developing his subject DR.. Clarke
said that for time the glorious arts
may prosper but in the end they are
sure 10 go down. The burning OF the
books by the magicans, he said, was an
evidence of the sincerity OF their conyer
sion, il was. one might say. burning OF
the bridges behind them. II is claimed by
many that ali books should be read. IN
order that both sides of every subject
may be known. This, he said, would be
q good argument if the agnostics and athe
lists and their like offered the people any
substitute for the Christian religion, but
they do not. He then drew several graphic
pictures OF what the result would be II
We gave sup the supports upon which
we are leaning simply because some
one told us they were not good. Another
reason he gave for not reading books op-
posed to the Christian faith is that he
challenged anyone to point out what good
had ever been advanced by the publications
of agnostics and atheists. No coed had
ever been accomplished by or through
them, and the only thing of which they
were deserving was TO burn them.
There are, too, DR.. Clarke said, other
books deserving to be given a wide berth;
they are what are known as empty" books,
for there is nothing in them worth learn
ing or remembering. There are, however,
some people who claim that such books
are read for amusement and entertain
ment, but he said it is best first of all to
learn something before we seek amuse-
ment and pleasure. Again, he said, there
is a class of cheap novels which give
boys and girls false idea of life. and
these, too, should be burned. There is,
he said, no country where there is such a
great quantity of this kind of books pub
Iished as in the United States. Still an
other and a worse class of literature is
that which proposes to expose to the
world, in decent manner, the corruption
of social life. Some of these are not
empty, but it is very hard, DR.. Clarke said
to separate the good from the bad among
these. In many of these incidents from
real life are recounted, but no woman can
read them without blushing. These books,
he said with much emphasis, are bad, and
men and women read them not for infor-
nation but because they like them.