A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps;
for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one should always
live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men. 
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that it always was,
and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not
turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the
same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling
us in age. 
Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a
book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both
entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, "Love me, love my dog." But there is
more wisdom in this:" Love me, love my book." The book is a truer and higher bond
of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite
author. They live in him together, and he in them. 
A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could