Companionship of Books part II
Thegood and true thought may in times of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guardingthe soul. It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost always inspire to good works.
Bookspossess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of humaneffort. Temples and statuses decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, whichare as fresh todayas when they first passed through their author's minds,ages ago. What was thensaid and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed pages. Theonly effect of time has been to sift out the bad products；for nothing in literature can longsurvive but what isreally good.
Booksintroduce 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 them as if they werereally alive；we sympathize with them, enjoywith them, grieve with them； their experience becomes ours and we feel as if we were in a measureactors with them inthe scenes which they describe.
Thegreat and good do not die even in this world. Embalmed in books, theirspirits walk abroad.The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which one still listens. Hencewe ever remain under the influence of the great old men. The imperial intellects of the world are as muchalive now as they were ages ago.
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