Effects of Novel Reading
By W. L. H. Baker
We have recently received a letter asking for literature on the evils of spiritualism to be sent to a young man whose address was given. The letter goes on to state:— “He has had a narrow escape from its deceptions. He began reading Marie Corelli’s books, and blames them for it. Then he got deeper and deeper into the books on hypnotism, mesmerism, etc., till the week before last he left his work, leaving a notice that he had gone to live with the beasts till the devil went out of him. He was away two nights in the woods, and nearly all the people of this place were out hunting for him. Sunday morning at daylight he reached home in a terrible state of body and mind.” By many the evils of novel reading are but little discerned. There are some whose experience should teach them better who actually claim that this class of reading is highly beneficial for the development of the mind. The fact that a book may be well written, on an æsthetic plane, by a popular author, and indorsed by press and pulpit, is not sufficient guarantee of its safety. It may possess all these characteristics, and still be the most dangerous book in the world because of its liability to deceive the unsuspecting. The greatest masterpieces of Satan are always masked. He delights to reveal himself as an angel of light. The character of an author is more to be considered than his production. Yet the two can not be separated. Many times the surface only is seen, and the underlying current is not discerned. “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” It is true that what we are is more important and more telling in the formation of the character of others than what we do. Let us not be deceived. A vital connection with God through the study of his Word, and by prayer, is the hidden spring by which the weary traveler is refreshed. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” All true rest and peace are found only in Christ. We may well avoid all that detracts from him. There is no fellowship between light and darkness. The immediate effect of novel reading is to lessen our love for the study of the Bible and communion with God, by which alone we are qualified for the every-day realities of life, and prepared at last for an entrance into the kingdom above.