Sect. II.] Germany, 185 



among her literati, deserve much praise, it may be 

 questioned whether the friend of sound and useful 

 learning can contemplate her literary aspect with 

 unmingled pleasure. Is it not to be feared that 

 the business of book-making is carried in that 

 country to excess ? Is it useful to fill a country 

 with a countless number of hastily composcjd, 

 and of course superficial books, on the most com- 

 mon subjects; thus perplexing and overwhelm- 

 ing the student, and imposing an unnecessary 

 tax on the friends of literature ? Above all, are not 

 the moral and theological principles contained in 

 too many of these works, and the practical ten- 

 dency of a still larger number, such as must fill 

 the virtuous mind with apprehension } There is 

 such a thing as an injurious multiplication of 

 books, even when they are all, individually harm- 

 less; but where a considerable portion of them, 

 bear a corrupt character, every increase of their 

 number will give the friend of human happiness 

 a mixture of pain. There is no country now on 

 earth (unless, perliaps, we must except France) 

 in which literary enterprise is made the medium 

 for conveying so much moral and theological 

 poison as in Germany *. 



* See Additional NoUs (L), 



