Quotations about Books and Reading
from
TheInternational Thesaurus of Quotations
91. BOOKS AND
BEADING
See also 62. Autobiography; 79.
Biography;
134. Classics; 242. Dictionaries;
341. Fiction;
535. Libraries; 542. Literature;
1057. Words;
1062. Writing and Writers
1. I have observed, that a
reader seldom peruses a book with pleasure, 'till he knows whether the writer
of it be a black or a fair man, of a mild or choleric disposition, married or
a bachelor, with other particulars of the like nature, that conduce very much
to the right understanding of an author. joseph addison, The Spectator
(1711-12), i.
2. A man is known by the
company his mind keeps. thomas bailey aldbich, "Leaves from a Notebook,"
Ponkapog Papers (1903).
3. Some books are undeservedly
forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered. w. H. auden, "Reading," The
Dyer's Hand (1962).
4. Books will speak plain when
counselors blanch. francis bacon, "Of Counsel," Essays (1625).
5. Some books are to be tasted,
others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. francis bacon,
"Of Studies," Essays (1625).
6. A book is good company. It
is full of conversation without loquacity. It comes to your longing with full
instruction, but pursues you never. henry ward beecher, Proverbs from
Plymouth Pulpit (1887).
7. Thank God for books! And yet
thank God that the great realm of truth lies yet outside of books, too vast to
be mastered by types or imprisoned in libraries. HENKY ward beecher,
Proverbs from Plymouth Pulpit (1887).
8. Of making many books there
is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Bible,
Ecclesiastes 12:12.
9. Best-sellerism is the star
system of the book world. A "best seller" is a celebrity among books. It is a
book known primarily (sometimes exclusively) for its well-knownness. daniel j.
boobstin, The Image (1962), 4.8.
10. Books succeed, / And lives
fail.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING,
Aurora Leigh (1856), 7.705.
n. The adult relation to books
is one of absorbing rather than being absorbed. anthony burgess, "The Book Is
Not for Reading," The New York Times Book Review, Dec. 4, 1966.
11. The possession of a book
becomes a substitute for reading it. Anthony Bubgess, "The Book Is Not for
Reading," The New York Times Book Review, Dec. 4, 1966.
13. How much there is in books
that one does not want to know, that it would be a mere weariness and burden to
the spirit to know. john burroughs, Indoor Studies (1889).
14. In books lies the soul of
the whole past time. thomas cablyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic
in History (1841), 5.
15. "What is the use of a
book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?" lewis cabboll,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), i.
16. Most of today's books have
an air of having been written in one day from books read the night before.
chamfort, Maximes et pensees (1805), 6.
17. What is responsible for the
success of many works is the rapport between the mediocrity of the author's
ideas and the mediocrity of the public's. chamfobt, Maximes et pensees
(1805), 6.
18. The easiest books are
generally the best; for, whatever author is obscure and difficult in his own
language, certainly does not think clearly. lord chesterfield, Letters to
His Son, Feb.8,1750.
19. When one can read, can
penetrate the enchanted realm of books, why write? colette, "The Footwarmer,"
Earthly Paradise (1966), i, ed. Robert Phelps.
20. Some read to think—these
are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these
form the great majority. charles caleb colton, Lacon (1825), 1.554.
21. Many books require no
thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason—they made no
such demand upon those who wrote them. charles caleb colton, Lacon
(1825), 2.248.
22. While thought exists, words
are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living. cyril
connolly, The Unquiet Crave (1945), 3-
23. The man who reads only for
improvement is beyond the hope of much improvement before he begins.
jonathan daniels, Three Presidents and Their Books, (i956).
24. The reading of all good
books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries. descartes,
Discourse on Method (1639), i.
25. A precious—mouldering
pleasure— 'tis— / To meet an Antique Book— / In just the Dress his Century
wore— / A privilege - I think - . emily dickinson, poem (c. 1862).
26. A book, like a landscape,
is a state of consciousness varying with readers. ernest dimnet, The Art of
Thinking (1928), 3.8.
27. Reading, to most people,
means an ashamed way of killing time disguised under a dignified name. ernest
dimnet, The Art of Thinking (1928), 3.8.
28. A book is not harmless
merely because no one is consciously offended by it. T. S. eliot, "Religion
and Literature" (1935).
29. What can we see, read,
acquire, but ourselves. Take the book, my friend, and read your eyes out, you
will never find there what I find. emerson, Journals, 1832.
30. Books take their place
according to their specific gravity as surely as potatoes in a tub. emerson,
Journals, 1834.
31. What's a book? Everything
or nothing. The eye that sees it is all. emerson, Journals, 1834.
32. We are too civil to books.
For a few golden sentences we will turn over and actually read a volume of
four or five hundred pages. emerson, Journals, 1841.
33. The modernness of all good
books seems to give me an existence as wide as man. emerson, "Nominalist and
Realist," Essays: Second Series (1844).
34. For the most part, our
novel-reading is a passion for results. emerson, "In Praise of Books," The
Conduct of Life (1860).
35. I should as soon think of
swimming across Charles River, when I wish to go to Boston, as of reading all
my books in originals, when I have them rendered for me in my mother tongue.
emerson, "In Praise of Books," The Conduct of Life (1860).
36. A wicked book is the
wickeder because it cannot repent. english proverb.
37. I suggest that the only
books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone
a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves. E. M.
forsteb, "A Book That Influenced Me," Two Cheers for Democracy (1951).
38. Learning hath gained most
by those books by which the printers have lost. thomas fuller, d.d., "Of
Books," The Holy State and the Profane State (1642).
39. To read a writer is for me
not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him, and travel
in his company. andbe GIDE, "Third Imaginary Interview," Pretexts
(1903), tr. Angelo P. Bertocci and others.
40. I know every book of mine
by its scent, and I have but to put my nose between the pages to be reminded
of all sorts of things. george gissing, "Spring," The Private Papers of
Henry Ryecroft (1903).
41. How our life has been
warped by books! We are not contented with realities: we crave conclusions.
david grayson, Adventures in Contentment (1907), 9.
42. What a convenient and
delightful world is this world of books! — if you bring to it not the
obligations of the student, or look upon it as an opiate for idleness, but
enter it rather with the enthusiasm of the adventurer! david grayson,
Adventures in Contentment (1907), 12.
43. Few books have more than
one thought: the generality indeed have not quite so many. julius charles hare
and augustus william hare, Guesses at Truth (1827).
44. Books give not wisdom where
was none before, / But where some is, there reading makes it more. sir john
harington, Epigrams (1615), i.2.
45. The book-worm wraps himself
up in his web of verbal generalities, and sees only the glimmering shadows of
things reflected from the minds of others. william hazlitt, "On the Ignorance
of the Learned," Table Talk (1821-22).
46. What refuge is there for
the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new
books he ought to read, while life is only long enough for him to attempt to
read a hundred? oliver wendell holmes, sr., Over the Teacups (1891), 7.
47. When I get hold of a book I
particularly admire, I am so enthusiastic that I loan it to some one who never
brings it back. edgab watson howe, Country Town Sayings (1911).
48. A book on cheap paper does
not convince. It is not prized, it is like a wheezy doctor with pigtail
tobacco breath, who needs a manicure. elbert hubbard, The Philistine
(1895-1915).
49. A bad book is as much of a
labour to write as a good one; it comes as sincerely from the author's soul.
aldous huxley, Point Counter Point (1928), 13.
50. One of the amusements of
idleness is reading without the fatigue of close attention; and the world,
therefore, swarms with writers whose wish is not to be studied, but to be read.
samuel johnson, The Idler (1758-60), 31.
51. A man ought to read just as
inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
samuel johnson, quoted in Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, July 14,
1763.
52. We find little in a book
but what we put there. But in great books, the mind finds room to put many
things. joseph joubekt, Pensees (1842), 22.98, tr. Katharine Lyttelton.
53. We read fine things but
never feel them to the full until we have gone the same steps as the author.
john keats, letter to John Hamilton Reynolds, May 3, i8i8.
54. There is as much trickery
required to grow rich by a stupid book as there is folly in buying it. la
bruyere, Characters (1688), 1.46, tr. Henri Van Laun.
55. I love to lose myself in
other men's minds. When I am not walking, I am reading; I cannot sit and
think. Books think for me. charles lamb, "Detached Thoughts on Books and
Reading," Last Essays of Elia (1833).
56. In some respects the
better a book is, the less it demands from binding. charles lamb, "Detached
Thoughts on Books and Reading," Last Essays of Elia (1833).
57. What is reading but silent
conversation? WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR, "Aristoteles and Callisthenes,"
Imaginary Conversations (1824-53).
58. A book is a mirror: if an
ass peers into it, you can't expect an apostle to look out. GEORG CHRISTOPH
LICHTENBERG, Aphorisms (1764-99), tr. J. P. Stern.
59. To read means to borrow; to
create out of one's readings is paying off one's debts. GEORG CHRISTOPH
LICHTENBERG, Aphorisms (1764-99), tr. F. H. Mautner and H. Hatfield.
60. Reading furnishes the mind
only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking makes what we read ours. john
locke, Of the Conduct of the Understanding (1706), 20.
61. Endless volumes, larger,
fatter, / Prove man's intellectual climb, / But in essence it's a matter /
Just of having lots of time. "Endless Volumes," editorial. The London
Times'Literary Supplement, Dec. a8, 1967.
6a. There are favorable hours
for reading a book, as for writing it. LONGFELLOW, "Table-Talk," Driftwood
(1857).
63. All books are either dreams
or swords. amy lowell, "Sword Blades and Poppy Seeds," Sword Blades and
Poppy Seeds (1914).
64. Make him [the reader]
laugh and he will think you a trivial fellow, but bore him in the right way and
your reputation is assured. w. somerset maugham, The Gentleman in the
Parlour (1930).
65. The only important thing in
a book is the meaning it has for you. w. somerset maugham, The Summing Up
(1938), 26.
66. Who kills a man kills a
reasonable creature. God's image; but he who destroys i, a good book kills
reason itself. milton, Areopagitica (1644).
67. Books are not absolutely
dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that
soul was whose progeny they are; nay they do preserve as in a vial the purest
efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. milton,
Tractate of Education (1644).
68. He that I am reading seems
always to have the most force. montaigne, "Apology for Raimond de
Sebonde," Essays (1580-88), tr. Charles Cotton and W. C. Hazlitt.
69. Every abridgement of a good
book is a stupid abridgement. montaigne, "Of the art of conference," Essays
(1580-88).
70. I seek in the reading of
books, only to please myself, by an honest diversion. montaigne, "Of books,"
Essays (1580-88), tr. Charles Cotton and W. C. Hazlitt.
71. I have never known any
distress that an hour's reading did not relieve. montesquieu, Pensees
diverses (1899).
72. A book is made better by
good readers and clearer by good opponents. nietzsche, Miscellaneous
Maxims and Opinions (1879), 2153, tr. Paul V. Cohn.
73. Books for all the world are
always foul-smelling books: the smell of small people clings to them.
nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (1886), 30, tr. Walter Kaufmann.
74. When we read too fast or
too slowly, we understand nothing. pascal, Pensees (1670), 69, tr. W. F.
Trotter.
75. How many good books suffer
neglect through the inefficiency of their beginnings! edgar allan poe,
Marginalia (1844-49), i.
76. In reading some books we
occupy ourselves chiefly with the thoughts of the author; in perusing others,
exclusively with our own. edgar allan poe, Marginalia (1844-49), 2.
77. No man understands a deep
book until he has seen and lived at least part of its contents. ezra pound,
The ABC of Reading (1934).
78. There is no reason why the
same man should like the same books at eighteen and forty-eight. ezra pound,
The ABC of Reading (i934), 8.
79. No book, any more than
helpful word, can do anything decisive if the person concerned is not already
prepared through quite invisible influences for a deeper receptivity and
absorption, if his hour of self-communion has not come anyway. rainer maria
rilke, letter to Use Blumenthal-Weiss, Dec. 28, 1921, in Wartime Letters,
tr. M. D. Herter Norton.
80. All books are divisible
into two classes: the books of the hour, and the books of all time. john
ruskin, Sesame and Lilies (1865), 1.8.
81. A best-seller is the gilded
tomb of a mediocre talent. logan pearsall smith, Afterthoughts (1931),
5.
82. People say that life is the
thing, but I prefer reading. logan pearsall smith, Afterthoughts
(1931), 6.
83. No furniture so charming as
books. sydney smith, quoted in Lady S. Holland's Memoir (1855), v. 1.9.
84. Hard-covered books break up
friendships. You loan a hard-covered book to a friend and when he doesn't
return it you get mad at him. It makes you mean and petty. But twenty-five-cent
books are different. john steinbeck, news summaries, April 25, 1954.
85. In anything fit to be
called by the name of reading, the process itself should be absorbing and
voluptuous; we should gloat over a book, be rapt clean out of ourselves.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, "A Goship on Romance" (1882).
86. A great book should leave
you with niany experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several
lives while read ing it. william styron, interview. Writers at Work: First
Series (1958).
87. Books, like proverbs,
receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they
have passed. SIR william temple, "Of Ancient and Modern Learning,"
Miscellanea (1692), v. 2.
88. How many a man has dated a
new era in his life from the reading of a book! Thoreau, "Reading," Walden
(1854).
89. Books must be read as
deliberately and reservedly as they are written. Thoreau, "Reading," Walden
(1854).
90. It is with books as with
men—a very small number play a great part; the rest are lost in the multitude.
voltaire, "Books," Philosophical Dictionary (1764).
91. Have you any right to read,
especially novels, until you have exhausted the best part of the day in some
employment that is called practical? charles dudley warner, "First Study,"
Backlog Studies (1873).
92. There is no such thing as a
moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is
all. oscar wilde, preface, The Picture of Dorian Cray (1891).
93. Up! up! my Friend, and quit
your books; / Or surely you'll grow double. / Up! up! my Friend, and clear your
looks; / Why all this toil and trouble? william wordsworth, "The Tables
Turned" (1798).
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