The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-18
(By William 7. Ellis.

Reading What and
Why? Ps. 1l9:ia9-i36.
(By William t. Ellis.)
Speech has slain its thousands:
and literature has slain its tens of
thousands. \ central and dominant
principal of our modern life is the
prevalence and power of published
communications. The printed page
rules the world. All news, all views.
all truth and error. are now swiftly
disseminated by the far-flying leaves
from the printing press. We are SO
accustomed to this condition. and il
is so naturally accepted as a matter
OF fact, that we seldom pause to con-
slider its revolutionary consequences.
No other single agency is SO directly
responsible for the universally and
uniformity Of the ideas that now
rule the world. The printing press
IS the throne Of civilization. The
periodical is the realization of the
classical myth of Mercury, the mes
senger of the gods. Since all man
KIND reads, or is learning to read, the
whole order of organized life is be-
ing made over. Let US here and now.
in recognition of 4 truth with un-
measured religious implications. do
reverence to the printed page.
All true and noble literature is re
ligious, whether technically So abel
led or not. One has said that The
poets are the worlds ordained priest
hood"
: While we freely grant the adjec-
tive religious" to a vast body OF
poetry and philosophy and fiction
= which wears nc ecclesiastical tags,
VIC must at the same time deny the
q name "religious'' to a plentitude of
3 trivial, mechanical. acrimonious and
unloving literature which has come
forth from presses established in the
name of religion. A Church imprint
= by no means insureS a religious char
\ acter to a printed page. Indeed, 3
present day fact of considerable i'm
p%ortance is the rapid increase in sin.
, cerely religious literature, alOns
: with the decline of denominations
publishing houses.
Any literature which helps peopl
IS to think more soberly. reverently an'
molly is religious.
- An inclination toward the litera
~ ture of meditation and inspiration
IL one of the SureSt signs of a SlncereI
'e devotional temperament. Those VIII
D. give thought to the things of tn
te spirit seek the aid which comes frOr
lie the printed page. Thus. fondness fo
s. Thomas Attempts limitation c
lg Christ has been a characteristic c
spiritually-minded persons of a
faiths for hundreds of years.
al For a child. or a young Christian
=, the little manuals, such as Dali
b. Food" Daily Strength for Dai
Needs and kindred volumes. a,
strongly to be commended. AS v
ne grow older n maturer in spiritu;
experience, sturdier volumes. liz
"Imitation,' or Fenelon and Madam
h Guyon, serve our needs better. Lon;
err portions Of literature. and of Bib
n passages especially, are needed
satisfy our spiritual appetites.
We may outgrow books of dev
ton, but we never get beyond Il
~ exhaustless riches of the Bible. Tt
is the marvel alike Of literature al
ON Of religion. The earliest groupings
childhood are satisfied by this Boz
of books; while the ripest age, aft
Cd a long life time Of study, dies wit
out having plumbed it's depths. '
- get through with the other bOol
~ and cast them aside; but the old
" we grow the more We find in the
MS BILE, the Book which mirrors MAI a
reveals God. There is no wiser pr
ley vision in the Christian Endeav
len pledge than that which insures da
les B;ble-reading.
Some progressive" churches
nle stall frequently the latest revi,
vid SONG books. These changes are ne
af- eSsarS' because one SUN LIES
the ihos' ol tte iioueIn W
popular religious song-bookS is
less importance than the fact Il
they crowd out the great hymn
which contain the precious herita
yed tit,ed to be fau,iIiar with the dea
Of 1ass ,vnonS Of tho Church. and ev.
the Child should come unConsCiously il
oed possession of them. A mind sto,
ms with the sublimities Of Christ
as hymnody is established and enrit
one cd in ire rolio;OuS