The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1904-12-23
Calm ace
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt TalmaGe, D. D.

the season when presses are turning
out the largest of the years literary
OUTPUT, the preacher in this sermon
gives some timely advice as to the
choice of books. The text is Ecclesias-
ties xii, II, "Of making many books
there is no end"
Wendell Phillips for many years
went up and down the land delivering
a lecture entitled "The Lost Arts"
That lecture was in most respects
Qualification of the past. If, however,
we should halo the present and deliver
new lecture entitled "The Found
Arts" almost without exception most
of US would catalogue the art of book
making as among tie greatest of all
modern accomplishments. In our ego
tistic self cOmplacency many of us
have long supposed that tie ancients
knew but little about books. We look
upon tie great English and American
and French and German and Russian
libraries as modern developments
which would be just as incomprehensi-
BILE to our ancestors if they should sud
denly come to life as would be the tee-
phone or tie telegraph or the electric
car or the modern steam engine Thus,
wien some of us today hear the words
of my text we are amazed. We say to
each other, "What did King Solomon
mean when lie said OF making many
books there is no end, and much study
is a WEAKNESS to the flesh Were there
many books in King Solomon's time,
or was lie in prophetic vision hearing
the bangings and the crashings Of the
modern twentieth century printing
press?'
No. King Solomon was not hearing
the bangings and crashinGs of the
modern printing press. He was listen
ing, however to the scratchings of the
scribes' pens. The boollmakers We're
then very busy everywhere. They
must have been busy at that time.
Homer, tie greatest of all poets both
living and dead, certainly lived and
wrote not more than Il few years after
Solomon died. Thucydides, AristoDh-
anes, Demosthenes, uerodotus and So
Ion, whose writings are placed among
the classics of the ages, wrote their
thoughts only few hundred years
after King Solomon lived. Five hun
dred years before Solomon was born
the Lord said to Moses, write this for
memorial in a book" That Moses
was well qualified for the task we have
abundant proof. Long before his day
men had written books, cumbrous pro-
auctions in baked clay, that as boy in
Egypt he had laboriously conned. The
practice Of writing books was conttn-
ued, and the ancient authors had be-
come 50 prolific that the author of Ec-
clesiastes felt as most of us do in try
ing to dig our way out from amid the
avalanche Of the literature of the pres
ent Cay. "Of making many books
there is ne end,' the wisest of all men
cried 5000 years ago. "Of making
many books there is no end we cry
in the beginning of this twentieth CEN
fury.
Myriads of books surround us. The
Congressional library alone has over
100000 of them. Tie new library
building has accommodations for 2,J00,-
600 more. making in all space for 45JO,-
OC0 books. Books, books, books, books,
books eYerywhere-books in different
forms as newspapers, books as maya
zines, books recording the histories Of
nations, books as Biographies, books in
fictitious story or in novel form, books
in rhythmic meter or as poetry, books
in scrmonic and theological disserta-
ton. books rs essays! There are mil
lions and millions of them-good books
and bad books. Now comes the prac-
teal question, What shall we do with
these books? They come to us to as
sist or retard, to re-enfotce or to enet-
vate us in the struggle Of life. How
shall we use them? How shall we de-
eide which are helpful and which are
injurious?
Admit Only the Best.
A mans library, in the first place,
should be like tie sanctuary of his
heart, into which he admits only his
best friends. 1t should have room for
only a very few and a carefully chosen
collection of books. These should be
read and reread and read again. Like
our dearest friends, they should enter
into the very warp and wool of our
being. Their thoughts should become
our thoughts, and their teaching should
be translated into the actions of our
lives. They should not be mere person
alities with whom we have only
speaking acquaintance. They Should
not be those half strangers to whom
we have to be reintroduced every time
we meet them away from our homes.
They should become integral parts of
our mental, moral and spiritual being.
We should be so sure of their wisdom
that we can accept them as our guides,
to inspire us to right thinking, right
speaking and right acting. Rare indeed
are such booksi When they have been
found, they should be treasured as
more precious than gold, but let us not
expect to find many of them.
"a library to have only room for
few books? What do you mean by that
nssertionY some one says. why, l
always thought the more books man
reads the better be is educated, taking
for granted, of course. that the books
he reads are good books. My parents
educated me along these lines. When
/ was growing up my mother used to
give me 10 cents for every book l
would read. The result was / could
read whole book through in a couple
of dHvs Thus in my time have read
all of the popular novelists. In the
Same way, by my rapidity of reading,
1 am able to some extent to keep
abreast of the literature of this day.
Oh, no; you are wrong. The more