Pure Literature | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 23, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 40.

Pure Literature.

ANOTHER striking illustration of the evil effects of cheap, sensational literature is given in a recent dispatch from Easton, Penn., where a youth, whose mind had been poisoned with dime novels, shot and seriously wounded his father for some trivial cause, and then fled. Parents should exercise more watchfulness in rearing their children. In these days of free schools, free libraries, and an abundance of first-class family journals, there is no excuse for allowing the young to revel in that class of literature which can only result in a positive injury, both mentally and physically, as it encourages idleness and retards natural mental development. Sad results of the carelessness of parents and guardians in this respect present themselves in some form every day, and should forcibly remind us all of the necessity of endeavoring to prevent if not correct the evil. Let your children have their hours of pleasure, of that outdoor exercise so essential to their future health and happiness, but when the time comes for mental cultivation, as a relief from their regular studies, have some good family journal, or a standard work from your library to interest them. They may save you many hours of sorrow, and instill in the minds of your children thoughts that may frame their characters, and guide them to positions of honor and respect in the future, instead of a life of shame and crime.—Sel.