“Books are not made for furniture but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.”

—  Horace Mann

The Duty of Owning Books (1859)
Context: Men are not accustomed to buy books unless they want them. If, on visiting the dwelling of a man of slender means, I find the reason why he has cheap carpets and very plain furniture to be that he may purchase books, he rises at once in my esteem. Books are not made for furniture but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.

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Horace Mann 67
American politician 1796–1859

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