Books

Originally called Books and Furnishings

from The Hidden Side of Things by C.W. Leadbeater

To a discerning eye a man shows his nature in his choice of books-- a choice which is of great importance to him. A man reads a book; he lays it aside and perhaps forgets it; but nevertheless it lies there on his table or his book-shelf and it continues to pour upon him a steady influence, whether for good or for evil.

Many books, it is true, have no pronounced influence, and may therefore be considered as neutral. But if a book has done us good, its influence will usually continue to be for good, unless indeed it happens that we outgrow it altogether, and in that case its influence might possibly be a kind of retardation.

The main thing is to avoid definitely evil books-- horrible, neurotic studies of characters which are better left unstudied, tales of unnatural and most unpleasant women who are always hovering as near as they dare to the edge of impropriety of some sort, stories of doubtful morality, of shady transactions, or of blank inanity.

All these are things for which a sensible man will spare no room on his book-shelves, because they are not worth reading in the first place, and they certainly radiate an impure and unwholesome influence in the second. The great criterion in the formation of a library is that only sane and healthy books should be admitted, for books are specially strong centres of thought-forms, and their unnoticed influence in a man' s life is often a powerful one. They should be not too many, but emphatically good of their kind.

There is hidden side to even so homely a question as that of furniture and colour decoration, since every colour has its own special rate of vibration, and some of these rates are helpful to man, while others are distinctly a hindrance. Broadly speaking, light and delicate tints are good, while heavy, coarse and dark colours are usually to be avoided. Some consideration should also be given to the purpose for which the room is intended; for example, certain shades of red might be not out of place in a dining-room, but would be far from desirable in a room consecrated to sleep or to meditation.

To each his own. I LOVE the look of an old library, imagining the centuries of information stored within them. I do agree with light surfaces to increase light which is better for the eyes and psyche. However, the New York Central Library has a rich brown towards red that quiets the mind and moves readers into studying, pursuing their research, or reading.

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