232 TEE LIFE OF THE FIELDS. 



one sometimes still meets with reprinted in this way 

 strike the mind like a fragment of rock hurled at one's 

 head. They stun with rugged grandeur. As a rule, 

 extracts, then, are a mistake — not as a rigid rule, but 

 as a general principle. It would be better for the 

 village reader to have a few books complete as to text, 

 no matter how poorly printed, or how coarsely got up, 

 than numerous partial reprints which lead the thoughts 

 nowhere. 



There must be no censorship, nothing kept back. 

 The weakness and narrowness of mind which still 

 exists — curious relic of the past — among some other- 

 wise worthy classes who persist in thinking no one 

 must read what they dislike, must not be permitted 

 to domineer the village bookstall. There must be 

 absolute freedom, or the villager will turn away. His 

 mind, though open to receive, is robust like his body, 

 and will not accept shackles. The propaganda should 

 be of the best productions of the highest intellects, in- 

 dependent of creed and party. A practical difficulty 

 arises from the copyrights ; you cannot reprint a book 

 of which the copyright still exists without injury to 

 the original publisher and the author. But there are 

 many hundred books of the very best order of which 

 the copyright has expired, and which can be reprinted 

 without injury to any one. Then there are the books 

 which it may be presumed would be compiled on pur- 

 pose for the object in view when once the scheme was 

 in working order. Thirdly, it is probable that many 

 living authors when about publishing a volume would 

 not object to an arrangement for a production in cheap 

 form after a reasonable time. So that there is no such 

 difficulty here but that it might be overcome. 



