Talks to Young Men, III: Books, Their Choice, Use, and Value

TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. III. BOOKS—THEIR CHOICE, USE AND VALUE. "// a genius like Gladstone carries through life a book in his pocket, lest an unexpected spare moment slip from his grasp, what should we oj common abilities not resort to, to save the precious moments from oblivion ?" One should be as choice of his books as he is of his com- panions. First, because of their lasting influence upon him. The influence of a book seldom diminishes. It remains as a lasting impression on the mind of its reader, and often determines or modifies his thoughts and actions, long after the reading of the book. Secondly, its influence is living and active. It permeates the man's life in a subtle yet positive way, to his lasting benefit or injury. Indeed, a book may be called the positive, living, breath- ing essence of its author's mind, and is thus perfectly adapted to moulding the minds of others. Then, again, the book is usually concentrated and strong. The most impressive thought of the author is, as a rule, set forth in it, in the tersest language he is able to command. If it is poison, it is concentrated poison; if medicine, it is strong medicine; if food, it is condensed food. It has been said that the author puts the best of himself into his books. That statement should be modified. He puts his greatest strength into his books. If it is good, the best of the author goes to make it up. If bad, it may be composed of its writer's very worst. In either case, it represents his strength. Again, books represent various moods of their author's. If a book is written in an evil mood, reading it is like associating with a man whose frame of mind is continually evil. A bad man

TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 199 is, in some of his moods, good and beneficent; an evil book is never good. It is always in an evil mood, and productive of an evil influence. No human companion is so low that he does not, at times, manifest signs of nobility; an evil book is always detri- mental. Hence the necessity of choosing only those books that have been written in a good mood. One may choose as a com- panion a man who is sometimes a Dr. Jekyll, sometimes a Mr. Hyde; but the book we choose is one thing all the time—it cannot change. Parents are very careful not to choose for their children companions that are seldom good; they are not always careful to reject books that never can be good. Boys, be as guarded in your choice of books as you should be in the choice of your com- panions! A good book is like a good name—better than riches.—A motto of the Era. What elements constitute a good book? It should be thought-producing. A book that merely stimulates the mind, without feeding it, is as bad as a bodily stimulant. Its immediate effect upon the mind is emphatically harmful. The injury it does never entirely disappears. The true thought-producing book can- not be mastered with one reading. Carlyle's rule always holds good: "// time is precious, no book that will not improve by re- peated readings deserves to be read at all." The book that will not repay repeated reading is not a thought-producer. Thought-producing books include works of history, biography, travel, science, fiction, philosophy, etc., and cover a wide enough range to suit all except perverted tastes. Not all such books are necessarily heavy. Humor and fiction of the right kind may be as productive of thought as heavier works. One does not need to seek trashy literature in order to obtain light reading. All the elements named above should enter into one's reading. One should not be exclusively a reader of history, or of biography, or of travel, or of science, or of fiction, or of philos- ophy. A one-sided development would be sure to result from such

200 IMPROVEMENT ERA. exclusiveness. Breadth and symmetry of mental growth will fol- low the reading of a carefully selected variety of books. Give a youth resolution and the alphabet, and who shall place limits to his career? But let him steer clear of the breakers of friv- olous fiction. The chief danger of excess is in the direction of fiction read- ing. As a general rule, too much fiction is read in proportion to the amount of reading done in other lines. This is due, in a large part, to the fact that the struggle of life has become so keen and difficult that mind and body are weary with the strain, and the person is incapable of deep reading. Therefore, for the spare hours devoted to reading, light and ofttimes frivolous books are chosen. This tendency is unfortunate; for no matter how good the fiction is, excessive reading of it destroys mental balance, and defeats the very end that reading aims at. Standard works of fiction are beneficial for occasional reading, but one should not read too much, even of the best. It goes without saying, that all fiction with frivolous and degrading tendencies should be carefully avoided. In this day of "the making of many books," it is very difficult to select from the vast number those that are best suited to one's purpose. Perhaps the best rule to guide one in his selections is this: Let him have one subject as his chief, or major, course of reading. Let him choose the best books, past and present, treat- ing this subject, making careful use of book reviews and standard library catalogues to guide him in his choice. One of the best catalogues for this purpose is that of the American Library Asso- ciation, at Washington. To go with this major course of reading, minor courses should be chosen, covering the lines of work already enumerated. The object of this supplementary reading, as stated above, is the preservation of the mental balance, and the giving of broad culture. Sufficient specializing is secured by the selection of a line along which most of the reading is to be done; and breadth enough is given by incidental reading on other subjects. Another important element in determining one's choice of books, is the authority of the writer on the subject he treats. It is alarmingly common for a person to write on a subject in which

TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 201 he is not an authority. Such books possess some value, as setting forth the writer's opinions; but, in reading them, due allowance should be made for the author's lack of knowledge. Life is too short for very much time to be spent in reading books of doubtful authority. It is usually easy to secure the bibliography of any given subject, and to select from the list those best adapted to one's purpose. A few negative rules on book buying: It is not usually wise to buy expensive bindings. With care, a cloth or half-leather binding will ordinarily last until a new edition of the book re- places the old. Let the additional money that would be required for gilt-morocco binding, be put into more reading matter. As a general rule, books should not be bought in sets. Books published insets are usually too expensive; and a person buys some books he does not need for the sake of securing the ones he needs. Subscription books, published chiefly for the purpose of affording a handso.ne profit for agents, should usually be avoided. The material in them is generally not well adapted to the ordinary reader's purpose, and the price is necessarily high to afford profits to all concerned in their production and sale. A catalogue from a reliable book store or the library catalogue referred to above, is an excellent guide for the book-buyer. 1 don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.—Abraham Lincoln. • Regarding the method of reading books, a few suggestions are offered. Books should be read deeply, not skimmingly. If necessary to a thorough digestion of the subject matter, notes should be taken as the reading proceeds. Much of the time spent in reading is lost through lack of care and thought. Bacon's dictum, that some books are to be swallowed, some to be tasted, and only a few to be chewed and digested, may fit the case of the person who has litttle else to do than to read; but for him whose reading is done in his spare moments, the greater number of books read should be thoroughly digested, and only his supplementary reading should be hasty. If you wish reading worth your best time and thought, diligently study Christ's Sermon on the Mount, and the Proverbs.