On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
in fact , a habit of mere desultory reading for amusement's sake , is one of those habits which have a direct bearing upon our power of fulfilling the duty of the text , and which we ought therefore to make the subject of consideration for ourselves , as well as for others . Books are about us at all hoars—books , the blessing or the bane o ^ character—books , that now and then , by means of a few " words that breathe and thoughts that burn , " will kindle up a never-dying flame of virtue in . the soul—but oftener , pouring down upon us a stream of insignificant words and ideas , drive out of our minds better thoughts , and cheat us of hours not to be redeemed . It is Milton who puts into the mouth of his sacred Hero , the opinion , that ' Who reads , And reads incessantly , and to his reading brings not A spirit and judgment equal or superior ; Uncertain and unsettled still remains , Deep vers'd in books aud shallow in himself . " ¦ Paradise Regained . Book iv .
It is one of our besetting sins . We revel in useful discoveries , and discover nothing ourselves . Our minds rarely come to just conclusions on the countless subjects that are thrown open to them ; nor indeed do we seem to make any point , in general , of their coming to a conclusion at all , for we mostly read to be amused . Our minds are like a strand , on which one wave deposits only something which the next will wash away . If these remarks should appear somewhat harsh , let it but be put to the candour of those who will chiefly read them — of Unitarians , ( for unfortunately the Monthly Repository must not look for a much wider circle of critics , )
whether they do not apply to them more nearly than could be wished . It is certain that they are better read in modern literature than their orthodox brethren either are or wish to be ; but do they not err on the side of indulgence } To them all fields are open ; and there is not a tree of knowledge of which they may not gather the fruit and eat . No severe censor comes in and calumniates their favourite tastes ; no priest thunders forth maledictions against their favourite authors ; no voice of awful warning forbids them to
cultivate the beautiful gift of a poetic and imaginative spirit ; and it is right that they should feel the glory of being thus free . But having thus obtained , as it were , space for their minds in the boundless regions of thought , they may well submit to , and should the more gracefully wear , the yoke of Him " whose service is perfect freedom . " Let it not be thought that they desire liberty for any other or dearer purpose than to prove themselves the more his devoted servants . Let them exercise a spirit of more severe personal scrutiny , of more earnest dedication of themselves and pursuits to the
worthiest , the justest , the most exalted aims—contemplating what they do from day to day , in all its bearings , as it respects the advancement of an immortal being . Considerations like these may indeed check levity—fewer words may be uttered and fewer sentiments recorded ; but peace of conscience and self-respect will be increased ; more practical wisdom will be diffused in our circles ; display will not be so active a motive ; and , above all , we shall take better account of time . This last point seems to enter less into our calculations than it did into those of our forefathers . Days and years do not seem to teach wisdom ; and though no lovers of austerity , we
cannot afford to lose the refreshing contemplation of that quiet dignity of character which is invariably the attendant of those who estimate the years of man ' s life at what they are really worth . We deify the human intellect too much—but the world wants not commanding or tyrannous spirits , but
Untitled Article
On Love ' to Cod . ) 61
Untitled Article
vol . iv . N
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1830, page 161, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2582/page/17/
-