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Hesperian Student.
VOL. 5,
University or Nebraska.
NO 4.
APK"'-
Qvil non Proilolt. Dollolt.
187C;
Hooks and their Influence.
Nearly three thousand yeiirs ago, Solo
mon exclaimed, "Of making many books
there is no end ;" and to-day, after the
lapse of so many years, I seem to hear the
ccjl0 0f making many hooks there Is
no end" A. multiplicity of hooks, com
pared with which those of Solomon's time
arc as a drop to the ocean. Books, largo
nnil small; hooks of sombre, forbidding
appearance musty old volumes now cast
amid the dust and rubbish of the garret;
books in plain, unpretending dress, yet re
plete with choicest thought; books decked
out in gaudy colors and Hunting titles to
entice the nlrendy surfeited reader; books
bound in morocco and gold ornaments
for the centre table, but
" loo bright or not)d.
For human nature's dally food."
A few years ago, fifty books were con
sidcrod a fair library, while those for chil
dren scarcely exceeded half-a-dozen. In
deed, Webster remarked "Wc had so few
booKs that to read litem once or twice
was nothing; we thought they were all to
be got by heart." Now, he who would own
a library must count his volumes by hun.
dreds or even thousands. Tito general
reader, so far from "getting by heart,"
skims over volume after volume, merely
for the story, and rarely masters a single
work. Ho becomes HicA-rend, not well
read. When we consider how rapidly the mod
crn steam-press multiplies the productions
of an author, placing them within the
reach of the poor, as well as the rich,
when wc think of the vast army of per
bons, each, like Holland's M'ss Gilbert,
seeking a literary "career," it is pertinent
to enquire, What h the influence of liter
attire upon the people? And though it
may seem like presumption on my part,
to attempt to add anything, where such
wen us Ruskin, Col. Higginson, Disraeli,
and many others, have written so admira
bly, yet if l shall move even one to feel
the great necessity for improving and pit
rifying the literature of the masses, and
for creating u taste for that which is more
elevated and healthful in its character, I
shall not have spoken in vain.
We have laughed ntthe hero or Oervnn
tes, so completely crazed by long leading
of hooks of chivalry !hat he believes them
true, and himself the daring knight-errant
who must defend the oppressed and avenge
the wrongs of the injured; yet we must
admit that he is a good illustration, though
exaggerated, of the powerful influence of
books. Some timid author, in hie quiet
chamber, has inscribed thoughts for which
nations have battled long after ho has
passed away. By reading u book, n
young man has become a misanthrope,
sneered at all that is pure and noble, bias
phemed his maker, and made his life a
burden ami a disgrace. On the other
lutnd, another young man, by reading
some other book, has aspired after a better,
a purer, a nobler existenco a more perfect
manhood. Robinson Crusoe alone, ii has
been said, has sent more boys to sea than
any other Influence. Has not each one of
you been transported from this bustling,
quivering world into a world peopled
with creatures of the imagination, who
were, to you, real beings, moved by the
same desires, emotions, passions sub
ject to the same hopes and pleasures,
the same sorrows and bitter disappoint
ments? You have been amused at
the "Father of the Marshalsca," while
you pitied, yea despised, his weak
ness, and your heart has gone out with
compassion towards Little Dorril, work.
ing so patiently, and enduring so much
for the pompous, simple minded old gen
tleman, as she faithfully strove to restrain
the vain longings of her heart to conceal
the skeleton u; the closet. How the an
gry blood has tingled in your veins as
lovely Amy Robsart, on her knees, her
eyes suffused with tears, pleaded with her
husbnnd to take her to Ivenilworth. and,
before the Queen, acknowledge her as his
wife! Little Nell wins your heart at once.
Pure and fair as a sunbeam, she always at
tends the footst"ps of her childish old
grandfather, lighting up many a troubled
scene; hut the burden of life is too greut
for her delicutc spirit, und gently she lnys
it down. As you read of her death and
burial, nnd the helpless grief of the poor
old man, your heart is softened and, for
the time at least, you are mule better.
This influence is stronger in works of
fiction than in those portraying the real.
All the characters are players. In descrip
tions of real life the actors play their parts
and their motives can only be surmised
from the deeds they perform. But in fic
tion you are borne behind the scenes.
You know the very thoughts of the actors;
the- trials and temptations, the emotions
and passions, the desires, struggles and
eager aspirations. Nevertheless, can you
help admiring the noble hearing ot Mary,
Queen of Scots, at her execution ? Are
you no inspired to make your own life
more perfect when reading that of Waller
Scoltv By reading the lives of all great
men, are you not led to avoid their errors
and to emulate their virtues? Do you not
bear more cheerfully the "sacred burden
of life" after knowing of their failures and
sucesses?
The influence of literature is beyond all
computation; so silently, almost imper
ceptibly, the thoughts of an author inter
twine with those of the reader. But let us
consider briefly this influence as it affects
the people of our own continent.
At no lime, perhaps, has our nation been
moro prosperous; at no time has educa
tion been inoro universal. Yet, while
learning is so widely diffused, the intoll"c
tual activity of the masses is deplorably
superficial. There is a continuous olfort
to gain a position in society, and money
is considered the magic talisman to effect
it; therefore, "Put money in thy purse."
Everything must give place to this; and
education is only valuable as a means to
accomplish it. Society becomes a puppet-
Bhow for the display of dress and costly
jewels, and the puppets bow, smile, and
utter flattering speeches, us dame Fashion
pulls the wires. We cannot deny that this
is the rule rather than the exception. But
there is hope for the future. Improved
methods of instruction give bright prom,
isu of a better condition of things. But,
while the influences acting upon the pco.
pie are many, there is, in my judgment,
none so powerful, none whose importance
should be so deeply impressed upon the
minds of all, as that of the books wc read.
Wc are a nation of readers. Every city,
village and hamlet has its newspaper, and
books arc within the reach of all. As
reading has become more general, authors
have arisen to supply the demand. A lit
tie over half a century ago, Sidney Smith
remarked that America did not possess
"one mnn of any considerable talents;"
but the genial Irving, worthy a place in
every library, soon found a ready welcome,
even in old England; and to-day we can
proudly point to Hawthorne and -Cooper
in tho realm of fiction; to the refined and
classic Longfellow, and the eminently
picturesque Bryant in. poesy; to "Webster,
Clay and Wendell Phillips in oratory; to
Motley and Prescott in history; and to a
host of other writers in almost every do
partment of letters. At the same time,
there is oflercd to the public a great quan
tity of reading often loosely and imper
fectly constructed requiring little or no
thought to understand. It serves to pass
away time, but enervates the mind enfee
bles the memory. This class of reading
is by far the most popular the best evi
dence of a superficial education, of anno-
senco of thinkers.
How is this demand for sensational lit
erature to he arrested and directed aright?
Manifestly, a heavy responsibility rests
upon parents. It is from what has been
waste your time with the worthless? Read
tho best on every subject. Think of what
you read. A book is but the thoughts of
a man, not necessarily true nor perfect,
and you should ever search for truth.
Literature affords a never ending sourco
of enjoyment. We may seek pleasure in
society, turn night into day with our revel
lings, perchance gain transitory populnri
ty with Fashion's votaries; but at last,
weary, and sick at heart, wc turn from
the gilt and tinsel and enter intoour libra
ries, where we can say, like Heiusius of
old, "I bolt the door to me, excluding
lust, ambition, avarice, ami nil such vices,
whose nurse is idleness, the mother of ig
norance and melancholy herself, and in
the very lap of eternity, amongst so many
divine souls, I lake my seat with so lofty
a spirit and sweet content, that I pity all
our great ones, and rich men that know
not this happiness." Here wo can hold
communion with poets, orators nnd states
men, or the more abstruse philosophers.
The conquests of Science and Art arc
laid at our feet. The waters divide, and
the countless wonders and beauties of tho
submarine world meet our gaze; and
again, with upturned eyes, we behold tho
circling worlds silently, solemnly moving
through illimitable space, until we arc ov
erwhelmed with the thought of our own
insignificance. One moment we arc shiv
ering amid the frozen seas of the North,
and anon dreamily wandering through
the orange groves of the South. Now
penetrating the dense jungles of Africa,
or walking over Alpine snows. "With tho
the swiftness of thought we are transport,
ed to sunny Italy, and as we stroll through
the crumbling ruins what a Hood of
thou "rlils come rushing upon us the Ro-
fitly termed "domestic leading" that the man Empire with all Its associations.
child obtains its first ideas of the world And now we seem to stand on the shores
and of life. It is at this early period that
its mind is most easily influenced. If H
is the duty of parents to provide their
child with proper clothing and healthful
diet, is it not much more obligatory upon
them to care for its moral and intellectual
growth? It is not enough to send the
child to school. It must have books to
read, and if it cannot have proper books
it will read improper ones. It will not
sullicj to forbid it to read such nnd such a
kind of books. They must surround it
with books suited to its ngc, that are en
tcrtaining, that arc healthful and stimula
ting in their tone. Let thorn do this and
there will be less reading in secret of "ten
cent novels" and "blood-and-thunder sto.
ries." But many have already formed the
habit of reading everything (unless it con
tains solid thought) that falls in their way.
The mind becomes a great sieve into
which every kind of literature is poured
the pure meal runs through; the bran and
other impurities remain behind. Young
man, if you find that n book exerts a bad
influence over you, or adds not to your
store of knowledge, nway with it! Young
woman, does the book you are reading
make you discontented nnd cnuso you to
falter at tho call of duly, lay it aside!
You can read but few books utmost; why
of Attica and hear blind Ilomersing. Wo
visit Athens the nursery of letters, phil
osophy and art whose influence on tho
intellectual world is more enduring than
the granite rock. Would you know the
the de'ights of literature, read; and read
wisely. In health and in sickness, in ad
versity and prosperity, your best, your
truest friends are books. In the language
of Channing, I exclaim:
"God be thanked for books! They -aro
the voices of the distant and dead,and mako
us heirs of the spiritual life of the past
ages. Books arc the true teachers. They
give to all who will faithfully use them
the society, the spiritual presence ol tho
best and greatest of our race. No matter
how poor I am. No matter though tho
prosperous of my own time will not enter
my obscure dwelling. If the sacred writers
will enter and take up their abode under
my roof, if Milton will cross my threshold
and sing to mo of Paradise, or Bhakspearo
open to mo words of imagination and the
workings of tho human heart, and Frank
lin enrich me with his practical wisdom,
I shall not pine foi want of intellectual
companionship; and I may become acul
livated man, though excluded from what
is called the best society in tho place
where Hive." "Waltbu.
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