the choice of books and periodicals. But do not keep any suspicious book or periodical near you, lest it should fare with you as it did with Eve in regard to the forbidden fruit.
Never allow yourself to be deluded by a striking, or high-sounding, title; but ask where the book comes from, that is, who is the author and where and by whom it is printed. If this is not stated, the book is presumably trash. Toss it into the fire!
Thank God, there is no longer a dearth of good, first-class novels by Catholic writers of distinction. Good novels certainly serve an excellent purpose. They are capable not only of entertaining, but also of instructing us and even of encouraging us in the way of holiness and perfection. Young people are inclined, however, to read fiction in excess of what is right and good. Even in regard to reading, there may be a passion that is to be restrained; it is termed a rage for reading. Beware of this. Exercise self-control; do not neglect your duties to gratify your passion for fiction and other light literature.
Pay heed, also, to the admonition of St. Augustine: " Nourish your soul with spiritual reading." Let not a day pass without a short spiritual reading, for instance, from the "Lives of the Saints," or Thomas k Kempis' "Following of Christ," or St. Francis de Sales' "Introduction to a Devout Life."
The pious author of "The Art of Being
