That place that does contain
My books, the best companions, is to me
A glorious court, where read more

That place that does contain
My books, the best companions, is to me
A glorious court, where hourly I converse
With the old sages and philosophers;
And sometimes, for variety, I confer
With kings and emperors, and weigh their counsels;
Calling their victories, if unjustly got,
Unto a strict account, and, in my fancy,
Deface their ill-placed statues.

Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free read more

Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the read more

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.

Literary Men are . . . a perpetual priesthood.

Literary Men are . . . a perpetual priesthood.

A dose of poison can do its work but once. A bad book can go on poisoning minds for generations.

A dose of poison can do its work but once. A bad book can go on poisoning minds for generations.

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed
with profit.

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed
with profit.

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and read more

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.

The great Creator to revereMust sure become the creature;But still the preaching cant forbear,And ev'n the rigid feature:Yet ne'er with read more

The great Creator to revereMust sure become the creature;But still the preaching cant forbear,And ev'n the rigid feature:Yet ne'er with wits profane to rangeBe complaisance extended;An atheist laugh's a poor exchangeFor deity offended. - Epistle to a Young Friend, An.

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and read more

Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.