of a mere literary form; and finally, that it
forbids the merest hind who never left his village to be ignorant of
the existence of other countries and other civilizations, and of a
great past, stretching back to the furthest limits of the oldest
nations of the world. By the study of what other book could children
be so much humanized?" In these words we have a noble tribute to the
intellectual greatness of the Bible. (_b_) But it has other claims
upon us than its power to stimulate mental culture. It is inspired by
God. "It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness." It is man's guide through the
perplexities of life to the glory of heaven, "Wherewithal shall a young
man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word."

Read then the great books of the world, and this book, the greatest of
all.

_Second_, Another suggestion that we may make in regard to the use of
books is that _we should read from some centre or standpoint_. A
person takes a house in the country. This he makes the centre of many
excursions. One day he climbs the mountain, another day he walks by
winding stream, on another he sails along the shore. In this way he
explores the surrounding country by degrees, coming back each night to
the place he started from. We may do much the same thing with profit
in our excursions among books. For instance, we may take the
starting-point of our _profession_, and read all we can in regard to
it. A farmer should read about farming, a lawyer about law, a divine
about theology. Or we may take the starting-point of our _physical
frame_, and read steadily all we can as to our bodily organisation and
its laws; or we may take as our starting point the _land_ we dwell in,
or even the locality where we live, and seek to learn all we can
regarding its history. In this way distinct lines of study are opened
up to us, and we are saved the evil of desultory reading, which too
often fills the mind only with a jumble of facts undigested and
unarranged, and therefore of but little value. The writer knew a young
minister in a Scottish manse who had among the few books in his library
the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. In this work he took up distinct
courses of reading--a course of biography, a course of history, a
course of geography--and in this way he acquired knowledge well
systematized, which was of great value to him in his after life. We
should en