The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-03-10
READ GOOD BOOKS.
Rev. Dr.. Talmage Gives Good
Advice on Timely Subject.
when So Many Books Are written
Care should lie shown In Choice
of ReadinE-Innuence Of
Had Ones.

a.. / "t tii' NfbNou NI'N presses are turning
out the largest of the years Uterar,
output the preacher in this sermon
gives some timely advice as to 90,
choice of books. The text is Ecclesias
tes xii l., "Of making many book,
there is no end"
Wendell Phillips for many years
went up and down the land deliyerin.
lecture entitled The Lost Arts
That lecture was i'm most respects q
giorihcation of the past If. however
we should halo the present and deliver
a new lecture entitled "The Found
Arts almost without exception most
of us would catalogue the ant of book
making as among the greatest of all
modern accomplishments I'm our ego
tistic self complacency many of us
have long supposed that the amcients
knew but little about books We look
upon the great English and American
and French and German and Russian
libraries as modern developments
which would be just as mcomprehensi-
ble 10 our ancestors if they should sud
denly come 10 life as would Dee the iele-
phone or the telegraph or the electric
car or the modern steam engine. Thus,
when some Of us today hear the words
of my text we are amazed. We say to
each other what did King solomon
mean when he said, OF making many
books there is no end. and much study
IS a WEAKNESS to the flesh Were there
many books IN King Solomou's time,
or was he In prophetic vision hearing
the bangings and the crashingS of the
modern twentieth century printing
pressT'
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 bookmakers were
then very busy everywhere. They
must have been busy at that time
Homer. the greatest of all poets both
living and dead, certainly lived and
wrote not more than a few years after
Solomon died Thucydides. Aristoph-
anes, DemOsthenes. HerodOtus and So
Ion, whose writings are placed among
the classics of the ages, wrote their
thoughts only a few hundred years
after King Solomon lived. Five hun
dred years before Solomon was born
the Lord said TO Moses, "Wrte this for
a 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
ductions In baked clay, that as boy in
Egypt he had labOriOusly conned. The
practice Of writing books was contin-
ned, and the ancient authors had be-
come so prolific that the author Of Ec-
clesiastes felt as most Of us do in try
ing to dig our way ont from amid the
avalanche Of the literature Of the pres
ent day. "Of making many books
there IS no 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
tury.
Myriads Of books surround us. The
Congressional library alone has over
2 100000 Of them. The new library
building has accommodations for 25OO,-
900 more. making In all space for 1900
900 books. Books, books, books, books,
books everywhere-b iu 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 sermonlc and theological disserta- |
tion. books as 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 reinforce or 20 ener-
vate us in the struggle Of life How
shall we use them; How shall we de-
eide which are he'll Il and which are
Injurious?
A mans library. in the first place.
should be like the sanctuary of his
lesrt, into which he admits only his
)est friends. 1t should have room for
,nly O very few and a carefully chosen
collection Of books These should be
.ead and reread and read again. Like
,ur dearest friends, they should enter
nto the very warp and woof Of our
oeing Their thoughts should become
,ur thoughts, and their teaching should
le translated into the actions Of our
ives They should not be mere person
llties with whom we have only
acquaintance. They should
lot be those half strangers TO whom
ne have 10 be reintroduced every time
ne meet them away from our homes.
They should become integral parts Of
ur mental. moral and spiritual being. |
We should be so sure Of their wisdom
hat we can accept them as our guides,
O inspire MS 20 right thinking. right |
peaking and right acting. Rare indeed |
ire such books When they have been
ound. they should be treasured as
more precious than gold. but let us not
xpect to find many of them.
Am 1 wrong? l believe today that
me of the curses Of this age is too
much reading and too little thinking.
len and women cram themselves with
lot OF mentally undigested literature
n the same way that many people be-
ome gormands at a dining table. II
s not the amount Of food you put into
.our stomach that makes you a strong ,
nan: it Is the amount Of food you d.
.est. We should think man very ,
lily who said: Il want TO make my &
elf a physical giant l am therefore [
DING to eat enough food for ten men. {
Il breakfast l will have the cook y
ring TO me three pounds Of beefsteak 1
nd a dozen eggs and half a bushel Of {
mashed potatoes, and l will sit there a
a HNHn ] n