Your eyes will not be so bright in their old age. The volumes should not
be bulky--that is, for true, practical use. "Great books," says Clulow,
"like large skulls, have often the least brains." "Books," says Dr.
Johnson, "that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand,
are the most useful, after all." There is no objection to a costly and
beautifully-bound Bible, out of which you may read each day with added
veneration, but your sons and daughters should have pocket copies. From
these modest little volumes, the marvels of language and thought may be
gathered without seeming effort.
Do not be afraid you are spending too much money on reading. If you read
each book as you buy it, you cannot buy too many--that is, if you are an
honorable man, earning your living in the world, and not sponging it off
some one else. Read your book slowly, above all things. Read it as you
would ride in your boat on the waters, looking down at the pebbles, the
fishes, the grasses, and the roots of the pond-lilies which, being of
God's creation like yourself, send a responsive thrill of acquaintance
through your heart as you float above them. You can, at best, but glide
over a book. Even the writer has been but a passing observer of a few of
its truths. It is