• This article is in response to the Times Nov 3 article supporting the Archbishop's sermon.
• "Those who can prescribe or define a man's reading do much towards shaping his opinions, and even those who cannot dictate, but who merely command opportunities of persuasion, must exert some power in the same direction."
• "In delivering his views upon this point his Grace was certainly not illiberal–he rarely is; but when he came to define the purport of his words more sharply, by explaining what reading he thought ‘useless,' he lost sight, as we think, of a very important object indeed."
• "But what is a man to do when this stimulus is precisely what he wants? What is to be done when a book is sought as a distraction from anxious thoughts, and a something which will prevent the mind from feeding on itself?"
• "Mental is like physical appetite,–it varies with individuals and circumstances."
• "It is all a matter of taste, as indefinable and as little worth disputing about as tastes in general."
• "Now, if there are persons who are engrossed by stories of dark secrets, impending discoveries, mysterious plots, and skeletons in cupboards, we see no reason why their inclination should not be consulted."
• "A book is ‘useful' in so far as it serves its turn, and when that turn is mental diversion the turn must be served if the utility is to be secured."

Pamela E. Bedore