The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-03-10
FARMvILLE, VA, FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 1905.

er o God, help us to come TO tn,
firm, Christian decision Of never inten
tionally reading a bad book nor Of al
lowing a bad book to be placed In the
hands Of our loved ones.
would have laymen use common
sense in their selections OF books. |
would have them treat the brain i'm ref
erence 10 It's mental food on the same
principle MS we would treat the physic-
al body. You restrict your stomach TO
one kind Of diet long enough. and you
will starve your physical body to death.
no matter what kind Of food You may
take. What did your husband die OFF,
| asked lady some time ago. From
starvation" she answered. "He had an
incurable disease, but that disease did
not directly kill him. We could only
feed him on beefsteak and toast. We
bought him the very best steak in the
market. but beefsteak has not all the
ingredients In II TO support life. aud so
/ he gradually starved and passed
away Are you going TO restrict your
mind and soul to only one kind Of men
tai foodt II you are q broker. is the
full extent Of your reading to be found
/ in peruSing the columns Of stock mar
kets i'm the morning newspapers? II
/ you are a lawyer are you only going
/ TO read about the forensic giants Of
| the past who won their memorable vie
tories at the bar or spend most Of your
time I'm studying your new cases? II
you are tired mother. when night
comes ana all the children are in bed
are You going To simply while away
your evening hours reading a novel
ana crying over some princess who
never lived; With what books are you
feeding your sOulf ! am not talking
about the Bible now. What other books
are You reading that are deepening and
widening your intellectual and Spiritu-
al lifet Are you reading any such
books at allf
But. If II is necessary for ms TO read
spiritual books for mental food. how
much more necessary is il that we as
Christian students should read and
love that greatest of all books which
God has given to us 10 he our guide.
We have read how the great masters
Of literature loved their books Dr
Geikie tells us that "whcn Henry
Thomas Buckle. the distinguished his
tOrian, was dying bis last words on
earth were, My poor books; my poor
books" When Lehnitz died he died
with one Of his precious books in his
hand. When Death came To call Rob
ert Southey he found him an Old white
haired man. kissing and stroking the
books he was too weak to open and too
blind 10 read Cicero's greatest desire
on earth WAS expressed I'm the words.
"Oh take all that | have hut leave me
my books" Could there he q better
picture than that which Cunningham
Geikie drew Of the love which these
masters in literature bore their books: |
Should that love be greater than the
love Christians ought TO bear the book |
Of books which God gave TO MS TO show |
us the way Of life? II spiritual books |
are essential for our mental food.
should we not feed upon this book.
which is wholly divine:
l want you to class books among the
best Of friends and the worst Of enc
mics As Loyola the wounded soldier
Of fortune became Loyoa the soldier
Of Christ 10y reading "The Lives Of the
Saints" so l want the good books to
lift you and purify you and make you
a gospel messenger among men, As
bad books are the worst enemies OF /
| want TO enlist your help
In fighting them at every step. If
ever the devil had an agent on earth,
| have been one" spake the dying
author Of a pernicious book. "Oh, that
| could destroy that book l want
you to fight these evil books wherever
you go. want you to see that your
library shelves are cleared OF the
'lepers" ] want you TO see that your
children never are allowed to touch a
bad book. And Furthermore ! want
you, by the help Of God, TO scatter
forth the copies Of that one book
which shall yet trample over all evil
books, because it is the Sword OF the
Spirit" which shall never fail.
May God teach us one and all to pill
ow our heads upon the promises and s
i've ms Christ would have us live be-
.ause we love the "old book I
II thou art merry. here are airs
II melancholy. here are prayers {
n studious. here are those things writ
which may deserve thy ablest wit.
II hungry. here is food divine; j
II thirsty, nectar. heavenly wine
Read then but first thyself prepare
To read with zeal and mark with care: 2
And when thou readest what here 10 r
writ n
Let thy best practice second H.
So twice each precept shall be
First In the book and next IN thee.