An
Understanding whose attributes are ignorance and folly can never promote
a healthful growth of the Affections.
It has been already said that the Understanding of a great majority of
human beings can be reached only through its imaginative side. Every one
who is accustomed to children knows that this is universally true of
them. Tell a child an abstract truth, and it falls dead upon his ear;
but illustrate the same truth in a little story, and he is quick to
estimate its justice. This continues true of most persons during their
whole lives, so that it is vain to attempt touching their minds in any
other way than by presenting them with some image illustrating the truth
inculcated. Those who are capable of receiving an abstract truth without
such an image are frequently so from the fact that the moment such a
truth is presented to their Understanding, their Imagination is prompt
to furnish the corresponding image. Unless this is done either by the
speaker or the listener, the truth is apt to be only a useless piece of
lumber stored away in the thoughts. The whole secret of the fascinating
power of the novelist lies in his telling us of all that is most
interesting to humanity, and presenting everything to the mind in
images.
Most persons have so many duties to perform, that they have little time
for voluntary employment, and then they want recreation, which, if they
read, they say they can gain only through works of Imagination.
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