RELATION TO READING AND LITERATURE. 279 



aloud. When reading for inspiration, it is utterly 

 wrong to permit a poor reader to mar a literary gem, 

 and take from it most of its beauty. 



Inspiration, like breathing, is a gradual process. If 

 the teacher wants her pupils to get the most from the 

 literature read, she will bring it before them again and 

 again, or keep it before them, give them repeated oppor- 

 tunities to absorb it or breathe it in, just as she might 

 try to get them to study, not merely glance at, the 

 painting of a great artist. If it is literature, they may 

 and should get much more from a second reading than 

 from the first. It is wise to come back to it, think 

 about it, discuss it again and again. The very best, 

 never the mere rhymes, should be kept before the chil- 

 dren, placed on the blackboard, copied in their written 

 work, so that they will learn and remember it. 



The aim, inspiration, will determine the way in 

 which the literature is studied in and by the class. 

 Many a literary gem has lost most of its beauty because 

 too carefully analyzed, just as a flower loses its beauty 

 when pulled to pieces. We may prepare the children 

 for the understanding of a piece of literature by talk- 

 ing over with them beforehand some of the facts or 

 thoughts which may be most difficult. After such 

 preparation the children should, in general, listen, ab- 

 sorb, get the thought without interruption. 



We can scarcely overestimate the value in nature 

 study of genuine literature, rightly selected, carefully 

 read, and rightly studied. Literature, more probably 

 than anything else, will aid in attaining the highest 



