“The soul that feeds on books alone —
I count that soul exceeding small
That lives alone by book and creed,—
A soul that has not learned to read.”
"The Larger College".
In Classic Shades, and Other Poems (1890)
Context: p>Behold this sea, that sapphire sky!
Where nature does so much for man,
Shall man not set his standard high,
And hold some higher, holier plan?
Some loftier plan than ever planned
By outworn book of outworn land?Where God has done so much for man,
Shall man for God do aught at all?
The soul that feeds on books alone —
I count that soul exceeding small
That lives alone by book and creed,—
A soul that has not learned to read.</p
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Joaquin Miller 43
American judge 1837–1913Related quotes
“Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes, — they were souls that stood alone”
St. 12
The Present Crisis (1844)
Context: Count me o'er earth's chosen heroes, — they were souls that stood alone,
While the men they agonized for hurled the contumelious stone,
Stood serene, and down the future saw the golden beam incline
To the side of perfect justice, mastered by their faith divine,
By one man's plain truth to manhood and to God's supreme design.
“You sod, Leave my soul alone, leave my soul alone”
Poem In the theatre, in: Dannie Abse (1997) Welsh retrospective, p. 43
Un Art de Vivre (The Art of Living) (1939), The Art of Friendship
Book I, Ch. 22.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1760-1767)