Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-08

Not finishing book, once 1t has been
| begun, is held to be a bad habit by
some who seem to regard reading as a
| sort of manual exercise.
Always finish what you have begun, "
! they say. If they were speaking of logs
which needed splitting, or a hundred
yard dash, their admonition would be
excellent.
Reading, however, it seems necessary
| to point out. is mental diversion which
makes no particular demand upon the
muscular ability of man.
A reader may be good reader with
out so much as stirring out Of his bed
Physical relaxation is essential. as a
matter of fact, for the best sort of
reading.
Recall the picture of the great Lin
coin, stretched out at his ease in front
of the log-cabin fireplace, blowing
through his Bible by the aid of one dim
candle.
If you have ever tried the prone posi-
ton, elbows on floor, hands catching
the jaws at either side, as the young
Lincoln is pictured, you know from ex-
perience that it is not a comfortable
position.
1t must be remembered that Abraham
Lincoln was the product of another and
less luxurious generation, and that his
great physical strength made positions
which might seem awkward to many Of
today the acme of comfort for him.
X X x *
Reading being in essence mental, not
Observation-Disclosures not muscular-it
follows that the wise maXimS which
apply to muscularity and its deeds may
have no particular application to in
tellectual feats
To be in foot race and refuse to
finish puts the half-hearted athlete in
line for the gibes of his mates and the
booing of the assembled popuiace.
When it comes to a book, however,
nobody knows whether you finish it or
not, and, what is perhaps more to the
point, no one cares. In student days.
OF course, the teacher or professor may
have few words to say II the re
quired reading" has been sighted.
Such conditions, however, are I'M
usual, and appertain only to the classic
halls and the time spent in them
Academic life is, after all, essentially
clustered; the rules of living which pre-
vail in it are not exactly those of the
outside world.
When one reads for himself-the
happy condition of affairs which pre-
walls after school days are left behind
he mostly reads for pleasure and profit
One would not draw the distinction too
closely-what seems pleasure to one is
work to another, and vice versa
The main point to keep in mind is
that reading in mature life is, whether
for profit or entertainment, pure pleas
ure in the main. If it is not, there is
no point in reading. Thousands of per-
sons do not read. There are homes
where no printed matter ever comes,
and who shall say that such persons do
not live out their appointed lives?
There are thousands upon thousands
of people who think they read, when
the plain fact is that they only look at
pictures. Reading is not essential to
life. although 1t may be highly essential
to some lives. 1t is no longer regarded
as the sure road to fame and fortune,
although often enough it is just that.
X X X X
If a book, once begun. does not please
the reader, why should he continue
with it?
There are too many other books, in
the first place, and, in the second, there
is no point in boring ones self.