All round the room my silent servants wait,
My friends in every season, bright and dim.

All round the room my silent servants wait,
My friends in every season, bright and dim.

Shelved around us lie
The mummied authors.

Shelved around us lie
The mummied authors.

The quantity of books in a person's library, is often a cloud of witnesses to the ignorance of the owner.

The quantity of books in a person's library, is often a cloud of witnesses to the ignorance of the owner.

A library is but the soul's burial-ground. It is the land of
shadows.

A library is but the soul's burial-ground. It is the land of
shadows.

Food for the soul.
[Lat., Nutrimentum spiritus.]

Food for the soul.
[Lat., Nutrimentum spiritus.]

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."

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.

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.