Arizona republican., 1916-11-13
WHY READ AND
 WHAT TO READ
By pr. Ray c. harker, D. D. Tim. 4: l3, Give attendance to

Words enshrine ideas. They link mind with mind; they are the tracks upon which ideas run. A literature treasures up the intellectual heritage of a people. Hence Lytton said: "Thert is no Past so long as books shall live Milton said: "A good book is the pre- cious lifeblood of a master spirit em- balmed and treasured up on purpose tC a life beyond life" Aeneas Sage de- clared that books are "the true Elysiar fields where the spirits or the dead con- verse"
 |. Why Read?
 1. For informa ton. We learn mucf through observation and experience but a, large share of our knowIedgs must come through the avenue o books. By means of books we may march with Alexander as he rears new dynasties amid the shattered fragment. of Oriental empires. We may go witt Hannibal as he scales the Alps ant rushes down their icy slopes to llnocl at the gates of Rome. We may go witt Columbus until he touches the shores of the new world. We may go with Magellan as he girdles the globe. We may go with Hugh Miller among th' rocks and with Newton in his study Of the stellar hosts. As Balfour says You may enter at your leisure into the intellectual heritage of the centuries, and a mediaeval writer declares: Al minds in the worlds history find theil focus in a library. This is the pinnaclC of the temple from which we may set all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them"
 2. For culture. There should be dis cipline in reading. We should seek tC master to some extent what we read Habits of miscellaneous reading, ac- cording to Frederic Harrison, "close the mind to what Is spiritually sustaining by "stuffing it with what is simply cur ious," and such habits gorge and en- feeble" the mind by excess in tha; which cannot nourish." Macauley gave good advice when he said: Tt is more nutritious to digest a page than to de- your a volume" Dr. .ieorge A. Gordon speaks of the humber, nobility, and vitality" of the books we read. By wi tality" he means that the book must have life, and that it must grip the readers life. If a book does not grip you, better throw it into the fire.
 g. For companionship. Dr. Johnson thought the most miserable man in the world was he who could not read on a rainy day. Emerson says: Consider what you have in the smallest chosen library: a company of the wisest and wittiest men picked out of all civilized countries in a thousand years, who have set in best order the results of their learning and wisdom John Bun van found companion ship in his Bible when in Bedford jail. Luther gathered from companianship with David through the Psalms. Paul want ed companionship with great minds and said to Timothy: Bring with thee the books" Emerson said: Give me a book, health. and June day and l will make the pomp of kings ridiculous"
 1. For inspiration. A good book will arouse, and quicken and nerve for greater effort. Go to a book as to a grindstone not for what you get from the stone. but for the sharpening of the aX.'
 II. What to Read
 With twenty five to thirty thousand new books every year it is not easy to decide what to read We may offer a few suggestions.
 I. Read great books Ruskin says: Books are of two classes-those- of an hour and those of all time" An Eng fish critic estimates that more than three thousand years would be needed to read the standard works of litera ture. It is well to remember that "up to date" does not always mean up to standard. Some noted men of letters have had the rule never to read book until it was at least one year old.
 2. Read wholesome books. We se- feet our company in reading as well as in society. We accept the adage that a man is known by the company he keeps; he Is none t.ie jess known by the books he reads. A bad book is as corrupting as bad man. The ancients were right in calling books, the medi- cine of the soul" A bad book can poi son the mind and sting the soul to death.
 3. Read the poets. Let Shakespeare show you the majesty of the moral law. and how a scOurging conscience can lash guilty soul. Let Longfellow speak to your heart; let Wordsworth lead you to an appreciation of nature let Tennyson speak to you of the inn mortality of love: let Browning lead you up to a stalwart faith in God; let Whittier sing to you of the divinity of service and of Gods Fatherhood; let Job show you soul wrestling with evil until it fights it's way to freedom; let David lead your thought in his holy aspirations of praise.
 1. Read books of science. Let Dana and Dawson and Agassiz. and Lord Kelvin reveal to you some of the mys- teries of our world.
 ,. Read history. Learn how nations have become mighty and hastened tC decay. Read the story of human prog ress of the struggle for liberty and thus come to an appreciation of our heritage
 6. Read biography. The life of An gelo will give you view of Italian his tory in the time of the Renaissance; the life of Luther will include much oi the history of the Reformation: the lifs of Wesley will show you England 1T the eighteenth century; the life O Washington will tell the story of Amer. ican independence; the life of Lincoln will give you an immortal chapter ir American history.
 '. Read fiction. But here greatest care is needed. With six or more new books of fiction in the English language every day one must be cautious.
 8. Read the Bible. When serious persons used to ask Beecher what tC read he was accustomed to reply There is little old book called Mat thew's Gospel which think would sui your case"
 People are looking for the newes thing in literature, and to many 0. them the newest thing is the Bible, fol they have never read it. Literature furnishes no poetry grander than tn, Psalms. no history more charming thar the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles no fiction to compare with our Lord'' parables. no stateliness like the moving majesty of Job and Isaiah. In the ma ture of it's theme the Bible surpasse all other books. In range it is nor vast, in flight more lofty, in depth nor profound.
 Learn to go with the author of Gen esis as he unrolls the panorama of ere ation, with the prophets in their loft. imagery. with the gospel writers il their r of Chrict wifi