These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.

The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.

The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.

Man ceased to be an ape, vanquished the ape, on the day the first book was written.

Man ceased to be an ape, vanquished the ape, on the day the first book was written.

The books we read should be chosen with great care, that they may be, as an Egyptian king wrote over read more

The books we read should be chosen with great care, that they may be, as an Egyptian king wrote over his library, "The medicines of the soul."

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.

Books are like a mirror. If an ass looks in, you can't expect an angel to look out.

Books are like a mirror. If an ass looks in, you can't expect an angel to look out.

All books grow homilies by time; they are
Temples, at once, and Landmarks.

All books grow homilies by time; they are
Temples, at once, and Landmarks.

Literary imagination is an aesthetic object offered by a writer to a lover of books.

Literary imagination is an aesthetic object offered by a writer to a lover of books.

My books are water; those of the great geniuses are wine--everybody drinks water.

My books are water; those of the great geniuses are wine--everybody drinks water.