TASTE IN READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 243, 19 November 1909, Page 1

TASTE IN READING.

SO.UE IXTKIiIiSTIXi; UiiaE'.lV \. •noun. 11l the course of a paper (in " Taste in Heading" before Si. MaiVs I. :'!WU of t.ie Church of Eng.aiid .\u'n' s s.>-. _-;,- o-i Wednesday evening, llie lirv. W'lk.n-ou uniile some interesting oUeiv:.L> , is. We | give the following exl.rai-ts:-Sume people are guided in ilicit- choice | merely Ia the popului' lime, which is ' seldom a good guide and often extremely had. W hat can be i e foolish than to read a book. mcreN because it is popular or just to he able to say we : have read it? That is a foolish.'vain i and unprofitable thing to do. We aho-uld aim not so much at being wicklv read as being wisely read, let lis have the courage to 1« ignorant, ail not aim, ns so many do, to read the woik» of this I writer or that for the vain glory of | being able to say they have road them I or talk about them iu a superficial wav.' . H is no disgrace—though many think otherwise—to he ignorant of the works of even the best authors. John liubikiu says: -Just us gold is ' hidden iby nature in the .lesn fisiures ol the earth nobody knows wn *.-•:, ar.ri jot may dig a long lime mil hid none and

you may dig painfully to find any." We don't expect great cuing., fioa, the man of low tastes or low ide-i;s. If we don't like what is good and true howcan we expect to be good and true to ourselves? And remember that apart from human influence aid example there is no power which will ileU/iiinc our thoughts and ideals as the books we read. We are too careb,si ahout what we read. Many a parent will allow his daughters to read bjjss wnttnu b\ men of the lowest and vi.ejt eliaiac.tr Xf the writer of sueli a novel were to enter a man's house and atleii/pt to nislil into the mind of the dim ;'.t«,- by i-or-versation the pernicious a j> j! decoying filth what he has so f Jj;i.-ffully ' ii° stilled by his bad books, the rellec tions of Ins own base mind and thoughts, the father would shoot him when lie crossed the threshold before he would allow his daughters or sons to be contaminated by such a scoundrel. And yet he woi't take the trouble to ascertain what sort of books his children read.

The object of all true education is to uplift people, to make them wiser and better and happier. And we can't do this without first educating their tastes. What is the slate of affairs! The speaker read in an English paper of June last that many of the most reputable bookselling linns in England are publishing and selling ic i\ un o! the most pernicious and degrading kind•literature which is sought tc° degrade the mind, destroy the s.<u-.: of nmicsiv m women and manliness in men; booii's' which are demoralising <hr. |, : » o j | t . a ,,j i ministering to vice and crime. Some years ago an Jvi;i : .i Judge declared from the bench U .-it half a million copies of indecent papers wcr e circulated each week and live tons of one of the worst was being exported to tue colonics. How particular are even some men about the way tliev dress. They dress not merely with an 'idea of comfort but they want to look well. "1 suppo," it promotes their chances' or please* i somebody. Wen Unit is to their credit.' How careful we are about what we eat! We don't like to eat food tint wei haven't a relish for or food thai itotvi'i agree with us. We ivaut 10 g.'t the food that is tasty and nice, nut iviii agree with us, help t „ build up our frame, strengthen our smein a id ncivcs and lit us for our daily work and aiilv duties. Jf we are wi'.,a we wi.nl ea"t anything that will disagree uj|l, 1? or make us ill or unlitj and truite rhdit. -Now, when we are to oivrul ajjut what we put into our bodies, why are we so careless what we put into our minds? We put food into our minds—vile, loathsome stuif pic'w I up from ihe gutter that the dog on tlu- street >n,vJd be insulted if you were ,o (.lie- it to him.

Dun won't go into a-xaie ami '..<; r,aiislied with any dish or anyones Deveraje. You will carefully . 0 ;» ( . L somctlmi \ good. U't you Will ;:, t„ i, .e.t.ble" room or a. bookstall aui iir; lh,t par.cr or magazine lying on the table, or tb e lirst book cm the -iiieli rt -,)i -au-l'v vot.r tastes. Von wouldn't iiie iiili.m dY-iY'ni-imilioii. .Now, 1 don t »<iv w all do that, but 1 say a good mm' ot us do. I say we are all too careless about what we read—anoiit Mu »'.iil! we jut into our minds. Wo ,-eil any paper" am- magazine that we :i.ay nick 11! to while away the lim?. It may hoi. ho exactly what you eu'l good and i-.uy not lie what you call !i.t,l, but it n what you term •'hatin."ss."

Now let me tell you this: There is no book that is harmless—it must be either good or bad. And a book is good when it contains good thoughts and (ills our mind with just ami noble ideals which render us better lilted for our duty in the ordinary .oirsc of life. Tim book which tends to do Unit is a good tack, the book that lias no tendency in itself to do that is a bud book. Harmless literature! Iheic is no such tiling. That term is the devil's invention. Now just let me explain. There are certain books which do not contain anything very good—nothing which would tend to brace or uuild up our mind or character, and at the .-vmo time contain -nothing lhat one could really object to—nothing vile or bad or suggestive. The worst that can be said about them is that they are weak hooks, so people call them harmless. N'ow the devil is very clever; he knows you good I'liiireh-jsoing people will not read nor allow their children to rcao vile, .pernicious literature. U'lul do.'s lie dor lie persuades you to rend this '■harmless - ' literature. He has you there, for he knows that while you'are reading books of- thw description you are getting no good from them. ion are misspending the time that might he employed in reading good books that would be of real help to you, and you are prrverling and rtestroving vour taste for good, strong, wholesome literature. Harmless literature—so-called - is the sluir thai is read very largely lodny—titbits snippets, magazines, short slori.-s and weak novels. That is H'Yit our reading public demands, both in Knglaiul and N'ew Zealand. It would astonish you if you were to know the tons nnd tons of audi literature that is sold.