Books Quotes
Samuel Johnson is on this page more than once for good reason. In The Rambler (1750) he wrote that no place gives a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library. Boswell (1791) has him saying that a man ought to read just as inclination leads him, because what he reads as a task will do him little good. Alberto Manguel, Emerson and Northrop Frye are among the most-quoted writers here, which is what you would expect from people who spent their working lives reading.
Two entries are flagged as misattributed. The quip about a manuscript that is both good and original, with the good parts not original and the original parts not good, is credited to Johnson. “Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!” is credited to General Patton.
In the same book he became the first man willingly to claim the title of anarchist.
I'd always prided myself on how unlike my books were from each other in settings and subject matter.
By lamplight turn these scented leaves and read
a tale of love recorded in old books.
If you want to read a perfect book there is only one way: write it.
The book written against fame and learning has the author's name on the title-page.
Books that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all.
The richest author that ever grazed the common of literature.