r character-building
power.

"It is not in the library, but in yourself," says Fr. Gregory, "in your
self-respect and your consciousness of duty nobly done--that you are to
find the 'Fountain of Youth,' the 'Elixir of Life,' and all the other
things that tend to preserve life's freshness and bloom.

"It is a grand thing to read a good book--it is a grander thing to live a
good life--and in the living of such life is generated the power that
defies age and its decadence."

It is not the ability, the education, the knowledge that one has that
makes the difference between men. The mere possession of knowledge is
not always the possession of power; knowledge which has not become a part
of yourself, knowledge which can not swing into line in an emergency is
of little use, and will not save you at the critical moment.

To be effective, a man's education must become a part of himself as he
goes along. All of it must be worked up into power. A little practical
education that has become a part of one's being and is always available,
will accomplish more in the world than knowledge far more extensive that
can not be utilized.

No one better illustrates what books will do for a man, and what a
thinker will do with his books, than Gladstone, who was always far
greater than his career. He rose above Parliament, reached out beyond
politics, and was always growing. He had a passion for intellectual
expansion. His peculiar gifts undoubtedly fitted him for the church, or
he would have made a good professor at Oxford or Cambridge. But,
circumstances led him into the political arena, and he adapted himself
readily to his environment. He was an all round well read man, who
thought his way through libraries and through life.

One great benefit of a taste for reading, and access to the book world,
is the service it renders as a diversion and a solace.

What a great thing to be able to get away from ourselves, to fly away
from the harassing, humiliating, discouraging, depressing things about
us, to go at will to a world of beauty, joy, and gladness!

If a person is discouraged or depressed by any great bereavement or
suffering, the quickest and the most effective way of restoring the mind
to its perfect balance, to its normal condition, is to immerse it in a
sane atmosphere, an uplifting, encouraging, inspiring atmosphere, and the
most good in the world is found in the best books. I have known people
who were suffering under