Evening star., 1932-06-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

return. Every book which has been
rightly loved forever returns some
share Of that emotion.
1t Is not a lifeless thing, Of boards
and paper only, but contains something
of life in it, instinct with breath. and
glances, and the touch Of hands.
The hands of booklovers caresS book
covers and pages. He who crumples
and bends cannot be called real book
lover, although he may think he IS.
The poet who cut the pages OF new
books with a knife with which he had
lust buttered his breakfast toast was
something of a Scoundrel at heart, and
no booklover would want him in his
library, for fear he might become hun
cry and eat a volume or two.
Finicky booklovers, however. by no
means can be said to set the standards.
There are scores of lovers OF good books
who by no means reverence the physical
embOdimentS of intellectually. Even
these will not mutilate their books, but
will look upon them as part of the
household gods to be kept with the
same care as the new radio receiving
set and the Persian rug.
Recognizing old friends on some one
elSe's shelves will not overshadoW the
pleasure of finding books which one
had meant to read but somehow never
got round to.
The title tho author. the publisher
these strike one instantly. The book is
withdrawn, and the title page inspected
for additional facts. II any.
The physical aspects of the book
begin to be weighed. even as one holds
it in ones hands. The weight of a
volume can tell great deal about 1t.
Books published in England. even
though bound in America, as rule are
very much lighter in weight They
prefer them SO, over there, and they
are right
A few samples may be taken OF the
book. as one stands with it in the
hand. A look at the first page often
reveals much. This is the natural
and standard approach TO sampling an
unknown work. Often the entire tone
is set IN the very beginning. The ex-
perienced reader is able 10 tell, after
u page or two. whether it is mean. for
him
What he never does is to read the
ending
To him it is no temptation. for he
has trained himself since youth to
avoid reading endings first. not only
because it is the common habit of those
who have no real regard for literature,
but also because it IS an intrusion on
the rights of writer
The pernicious habit Of making a
grab for the last words in a book or
article smacks of the man who reads
Tor profit only. the book utilitarian, the
opportunlSt who seeks to WreSt per-
sonal profit from everything In life. at
whatever cost
1t must be plain to any one that
the writer of book began wrote the
body of the book. and then ended 1t.
In practically every case he built his
thought up TO a certain pitch The
only way that any reader can arrive
at an approximation of the mental
glow which rewarded the writer is to
go through exactly the same process
with him.
The art OF writing and reading rests
upon that solid foundation OF mental
progress
He who would attempt to reap the
harvest without the work, who steals
in by the back door. instead of enter
ing at the front like a gentleman. may
rest assured that he will never know
exactly what the author tried to say.
nor will he have any knowledge of how
! he tried tC say it.
These tn ughts come to one. stand
ing in front of friends bookcases.
Happy moments. stolen out of a busy
day. alone with ones thoughts and
the worlds books.
Reading aloud. or having some one
read to one. often is necessary, and
sometimes splendid, but the best way
to read after all, is alone, by one S
self. to ones self alone.
Then. and then alone. thought
answers to thought. the ideas of writer
have full opportunity to strike forth
fire, the answering thoughts of reader
are able to penetrate mere type and
page, and somehow. he is convinced
md their way back to the universal
source of all ideas.