SOME
HOUGHTS ON BOOKS
Writing about types of books, the
English writer and essayist Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859) distinguishes between
the “literature of knowledge” and the “ literature of power.”
According to him the former instructs
by providing facts that quickly become obsolete when new facts emerge.
The literature of power endures for a
long time. It moves emotions and invigorates human sympathy. The books produced
by it are almost immortal. They allow readers to ascend to new levels through
exercises of the heart and spirit.
Thomas de Quincey was an opium eater.
His biography is known as Confessions of
an English Opium Eater.
The English essayist and philosopher Francis
Bacon (1561-1626) said: Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some
few to be chewed and digested. The last category in this quotation belongs to
the literature of power.
Here are some interesting thoughts
about books:
- Books are the legacies that genius leaves to
mankind, to be delivered down from generation to generation , as presents to
those that are yet unborn.---The English poet and essayist Joseph Addison
(1672-1719).
- The English priest and teacher Richard de bury (1287-1345)
said: Books are masters who instruct us without rods or ferules, without
words or anger, without bread or money. If you approach them, they are not
asleep; if you seek them, they do not hide; if you blunder, they do not scold; if you
are ignorant, they do not laugh at you.
- The American clergy Talbot Wilson Chambers (1819-96)
said: Books are standing counselors and preachers, always at hand, and
always disinterested; having this advantage over oral instructors, that
they are ready to repeat their lesson as often as we please.
Finally, this
Italian proverb: There is no worse robber than a bad book.
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G.R.Kanwal
26 February 2026
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