think out; for the world of a man's life is, for the most part, but the world of
his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts,
which, remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforters. 
Books possess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of
human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with
great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author's
minds, ages ago. What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever
from the printed page. The only effect of time have been to sift out the bad products;
for nothing in literature can long survive e but what is really good. 
Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest
minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and did; we see the as if they were
really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them; their
experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them
in the scenes which they describe. 
The great and good do not die, even in this world. Embalmed in books, their spirits walk
abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which on still listens.