The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1912-04-17

who hath book, may fight Or sing,
or ride Oh rule or anything
Or he may dHeil ID humble hut.
+ Or palace. ere the book b shut
VINO hath book hath goodiy fare,
And happiness beyond compare
Or he may bow meath sorrow's weigA
lIf but the book such things relate.
Who hath book. hath but to read,
And he may be king indeed
Hls kingdom is hlg ingle-nook
[ All this Is bis who bath d book.
The Greeks have supplied the
eternal standards BIZ which ail liter
ary productions should be- judged. Ac.
cording TO The Greek idea, beauty Is
the one element which justifies the
existence Of q record Of thought. II
this seems to be a narrow and made.
quate basis o Judgment It is only
necessary u define their idea of
beauty and It viii be seen to include
all that is excellent Ia amy great book
Plato believed I'd the existence OF an
absolute beauty, and asserted the III.
innate union of the good, the beauti-
ful and tie true. Socrates regarded
The beautiful as cosncIdent with the
good, and 10th as resolyahle into the
useful mat Is. If a literary produc-
tion ii beautiful, It Is also useFul.
though utility IS not the primary OBJ
iect Amy masterpiece resolved into
fits elements, and reduced to the last
analysis, contains the qualities Of
truth and beauty
The most momentous and complex
and perplexing question thar can be
asked Is the seemingly simple query.
'ls this a good bookge 81 many con.
ditions are to be considered III an
swering IL; Sc much depends on its
being answered in the right way. The
point ol view OF the questioner, his
idea Of what constitutes a good book,
his preparedness to assimilate the one
in question -alI affect the answer.
Once upon 4 time, a lover OF Holmes
told young man that 'The Autocrat
Of the Breakfast Table is good book;
he returned It with the statement that
he considered It rotten. meaning
that It did not interest him. He had
no more confidence in that person IS
judgment Of books, and the genial
satire and optimistic philosophy Of
the dear doctor never had another
chance at him
It is possible to say, IAN the thou
sands Of books in this building are
good books, but they are not all good
for the same things or good in the
same way If one should 90 into a
store and say. Are these good gro.
ceries9" the answer might be Yes,
they are all good groceries. but you
can't make bread ont Of pickles. or
pies out Of salt A reader should
know what he wants with a book and
have some idea what he can get ont
OF It. Lambs Dissertation on Roast
Pig Is not a practical cook book,
though it may cause one to laugh and
grow fat and accomplish one pur.
pose Of q cook book
The usual idea Is that a book should
teach a moral or give practical in.
struction. Il must De remembered
that the aim o. imaginative literature
is aesthetic and not ethical. II is in.
telieetual and not moral A work may
bo un-moral, and not memorial II is
unWise to condemn d book because
definite and direct lesson cannot be
evolved from IT. It is impossible to
estimate and analyze the benefit 70
be derived from the reading Of every
book which deserves to DE classed
with the good. When we eat meat
au0 potatoes we do not expect them
to become muscle and blood immedl.
ately # is as unreasonable to expect
AL reading % produce diree: results.
a book may be worth while. though
wa cant name lesson shieh 4
teaehes
The production 81 pnre literature
is fine art, the aim Of art is beauty.
bot uIIlily Il Is aol demanded Of The
other arts that they shall have prac-
tieal value Il is granted that music
isas the right 70 be merely pleasing
if il sius orr blood Or soothea our
uefres. we do not attempt to measure
IS worth in money. OF IT'S power to
make Us better. Tie great paintings
Vf De masterF were not made to cover
a defect in the wall, or to keep out
che siad Tile moral Of a simple tale.
or the lesail taught by the picture Of
2 qulet landscape cannot be demon.
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