“It is the business of literature to make such a life stand out from the masses of ordinary existences with something of the distinctness with which a lofty building uprears itself in the confusion of a distant view. It should be made to attract all eyes, and to excite the hearts of all persons who think the welfare of their fellow mortals an object of interest or duty; it should be included in collections of biography, and chronicled in the high places of history; men should be taught to estimate it as that of one whose philanthropy has entitled her to renown, and children to associate the name of Sarah Martin with those of Howard, Buxton, Fry, the most benevolent of mankind.”
[SELF-CULTURE FOR GIRLS.]
PART IV.
e have discussed the question why, and how, reading should find a place in the daily scheme of life, and have now to inquire what shall be chosen for the culture of the mind and heart. To inveigh upon the necessity of reading, for a would-be student, and never suggest what shall be read, would be about as sensible as to inveigh on the necessity of food for a growing child, without reference to the sort of nourishment that is to build up the physical frame. On its proper quality, health and strength in great measure depend.
It is easy enough in these days to know what foods are nutritious, if anyone chooses to take the trouble to find out, and those suitable for the growing child are comparatively few in number. But alas, for the multitude of books! Who shall discriminate among them? “It is of the greatest importance to you,” says Ruskin, “not only for art’s sake but for all kinds of sake, in these days of book deluge, to keep out of the salt swamps of literature, and live on a little rocky island of your own, with a spring and a lake in it, pure and good. I cannot, of course, suggest the choice of your library to you, for every several mind needs different books; but there are some books which we all need.”
And first it may be said that no kind of culture is possible without a knowledge of the great literature of the Past. You must, therefore, read and study what has survived through centuries of time. Have you ever reflected on the immortality of books, and what it means? Written in the most perishable of materials, nay, at first not written, but handed down by word of mouth, they have outlasted the triumphal arch, the mighty column, the impregnable city of old; have continued, while empires have tottered to their doom, and while one civilisation has risen upon the ruins of another. The shocks of contending armies have affected them not: they have endured, from generation to generation, the same, while all else has changed. What respect, then, and reverence should be paid to the books of olden time!
First, of course, comes the Bible. We are not accustomed to study this Book for literary reasons, and rightly think its claim to our love and reverence rests upon other grounds. But we must never forget that the sublimest poetry, the most beautiful simplicity of diction mingled with grandeur, are to be found in the Old and New Testaments.
“Intense study of the Bible will keep any man from being vulgar in point of style,” said Coleridge.