Quotes about reading
116 quotes from 88 people
Michel de Montaigne1533–1592Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Book II, Ch. 12. Apology for Raimond Sebond
Thomas Carlyle1795–1881The Hero as Man of LettersPeople don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.
Malcolm X1925–1965The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), p. 400Human beings can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.
Saul Bellow1915–2005“Him with His Foot in His Mouth,” from Him with His Foot in His Mouth and Other Stories (1984) [Penguin Classics, 1998, ], p. 11It seems to me that the dedication of a library is in itself an act of faith.
Franklin D. Roosevelt1882–1945Remarks at the Dedication of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, New York, United States of America (June 30, 1941)Master books, but do not let them master you. Read to live, not live to read.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton1803–1873The Caxtons (1849), Part II, Chapter IWhat is more important in a library than anything else — is the fact that it exists.
Archibald MacLeish1892–1982“The Premise Of Meaning” in American Scholar (5 June 1972)Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.
John Wesley1703–1791Letter to Joseph Benson (7 November 1768); published in The Letters of John Wesley (1915) edited by George EayrsDo not be guilty of possessing a library of learned books while lacking learning yourself.
Erasmus1466–1536Letter to Christian Northoff (1497), as translated in Collected Works of Erasmus (1974), p. 115Pray thee, take care, that tak’st my book in hand,
To read it well: that is, to understand.
Ben Jonson1572–1637Epigrams
John Adams1735–1826Letter to Abigail Adams (28 December 1794), Adams Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society
Samuel Johnson1709–1784Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol I (14 July 1763) p. 121
W. H. Auden1907–1973The Dyer’s Hand, and Other Essays (1962), “Reading”
Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet1628–1699Miscellanea (1690), Part II, “Upon the Ancient and Modern Learning”.- Edward Bulwer-Lytton1803–1873Caxtoniana (1862), Essay X. Hints on Mental Culture