The Friendship of Books #231075

What curious fellows we mortals be! We tumble over each other to catch a glimpse of a commonplace man, rid ing on horseback, because he is said to be a king of a coun try, or a great captain of industry; but when a real king of men sits with us at home, we take the first opportunity to get out of his way. I suppose it is much easier to look at a man's uniform than to talk with a man's soul. Still, we are not all such inhospitable beings. Some of us, indeed, feel it even proper to be so far courteous and urbane as to welcome the classic into our homes, clothe him in fine raiment, and, though we give him only the freedom of our libraries and carefully lock him up in book cases, yet we do occasionally look him up. Others even go so far as to make a friend or two; for it is said to be the mark of a gentleman that he have a well-stocked library and a speaking acquaintance with some good books. Certainly, we must be gentlemen, even if we are occasion ally bored. There is, indeed, much to be said for a convention which compels us to assume a virtue we have not got. Perhaps the practice of this assumption may breed a habit; and a decent habit is far more desirable than an indecent one, or than no habit at all.