And Mr. Sumner finds obscenity on page 142. What do we find there? We find Jurgen kneeling before a crucifix! And there let us leave the case. 7--In conclusion. No book, no matter by whom it is written, should be read without an appreciation of the motive of its writing. It is the embarrassment of a case such as this, that the very fact of an indictment, the notoriety attending it, makes it difficult to sit down to the reading with the frame of mind that is present when we take a book from a library shelf. However one may attempt to resist it, there is always present a certain feeling, if somebody has said that the book is indecent. That suggestion can influence minds, even the most philosophical. In Lord Haldane’s most recent book, “The Philosophy of Humanism” (p. 75), he quotes from the memoirs of the great German philosopher, Hegel, as illustrating how suggestion can lead to conceptions:-- “In my youth I remember hearing a city magistrate complain that book writers were going too far, and trying to rout out Christianity altogether. Some one, it appeared, had written a defense of suicide. It was horrible, too horrible! On further inquiry it turned out that the book in question was ‘The Sorrows of Werther’.” The last resort against this influence of suggestion is now made. The book is submitted to this court for judicial scrutiny, guided by the tests of the law. Dated October 16, 1922. Respectfully submitted, +Goodbody, Danforth & Glenn+, Attorneys for Defendants, 27 Cedar Street, +New York City.+ +Garrard Glenn+ (42 Broadway), +William U. Goodbody+, +William L. Glenn+, of Counsel. DECISION OF JUDGE CHARLES C. NOTT IN PEOPLE VS. HOLT, McBRIDE & CO., ET AL +People+ +vs.+ +Holt, McBride & Co. et al.+ The defendants herein, at the close of the People’s case, have moved for a direction of acquittal and the dismissal of the indictment on the ground that the book “Jurgen” on the possession of which the indictment is based, is not an “obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, indecent or disgusting book” within the meaning and intent of section 1141 of the Penal Law, for the alleged violation of which the indictment has been found. I have read and examined the book carefully. It is by Mr. James Branch Cabell, an author of repute and distinction. From the literary point of view its style may fairly be called brilliant. It is based on the mediæval legends of Jurgen and is a highly imaginative and fantastic tale, depicting the adventures of one who has been restored to his first youth but who, being attended by a shadow in the guise of the shadow of his old self, retains the experience and cynicism of age which frustrates a perfect fulfillment of his desire for renewed youth.