THE PRESS AS A RELIGIOUS AGENCY 351 



not only the questions most likely to arise in the reader's mind, 

 but provides an answer to these which only the cultivated reader 

 and astute thinker would originate. 



This difference between the contents of books and those of 

 speeches, sermons, or orations has a greater bearing upon religion 

 than upon almost any other department of human influence 

 dependent chiefly upon the use of words. The object of diffu- 

 siveness and repetition in public address and in conversation is 

 to hold attention, move hearts, and fuse audiences into one mass, 

 so that influences may be -indefinitely multiplied. 



In books the style of composition is different. Where facts 

 generally unknown are to be given, and explanations of methods 

 are required, the number of words used may, or may not, be large. 

 But where principles, equities, and rules of action are to be com- 

 municated, condensation to the limits of clearness is a great merit; 

 in this age, if, outside of the realms of fiction and travel, one would 

 secure a reading constituency, condensation is a necessity. 



The Periodical 



The periodical press arose long after the invention of the art of 

 printing. Its modifications and the method by which its amazing 

 influence is reached make its relation to religion an intricate 

 problem. 



The ponderous monthly or weekly review is really a book, and 

 from it issues the kind of influence which single books exert, the 

 only difference being that a certain continuity and grasp upon the 

 mind of the reader results from the regular arrival of such publi- 

 cations. If edited upon a fixed principle and their articles selected 

 with respect to the promotion of that principle, they produce 

 about the same effect that books written for a special purpose 

 would accomplish. If they are simply reflectors of the public 

 mind, and brilliancy of style, depth of argument, accuracy of 

 knowledge, or the personal fame of the w r riter determines the 

 acceptance of the article, there can be no continuity of influence. 

 They may present side by side articles written by agnostics, 

 Comtists, Spiritualists, Unitarians, or Trinitarians. Theists, 

 pantheists, idealists, and materialists may express their views 

 without let or hindrance. The monthly magazines, with greater 

 variety and some degree of editorial comment, differ from such 

 reviews as have just been mentioned to such an extent that some 

 of them have a recognized political or religious representative 

 character. 



The function of the weekly paper is to present a combination 

 of news, literature, and politics, and local or general gossip. The 



