VARLE, Charles Quotes
(fl. 1835), American author
Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress—no crime destroy—no enemy alienate—no despotism enslave. At home, a friend; abroad, an introduction; in solitude, a solace; and in society, an ornament. Without it, what is man?—a splendid slave, a reasoning savage.
No habitual reader of the common run of novels can love the Bible or any other book that demands thought, or inculcates the serious duties of life. He dwells in a region of imagination, where he is disgusted with the plainness and simplicity of truth, and with the sober realities that demand his attention as a rational and immortal being, and an accountable subject of God's government.
Novels are mean imitations of literature, and usually the poorest part of it. They devour much precious time, and, what is worse, have a bad effect upon mind and morals. Their fanciful, distorted, and exaggerated sketches of life tend to vitiate and corrupt the taste, and to excite expectations that can never be fulfilled.
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