The book which you read from a sense of duty, or because for any reason you must, does not commonly make friends with you.

Quote by William Dean Howells

Topics: William Dean Howells Quotes

The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is...

The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is...

An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise.

An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise.

How is it the great pieces of good luck fall to us?

How is it the great pieces of good luck fall to us?

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

Is it worth while to observe that there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.

Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.

I know, indeed, of nothing more subtle satisfying and cheering than a knowledge of the...

I know, indeed, of nothing more subtle satisfying and cheering than a knowledge of the...

If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like...

If we like a man's dream, we call him a reformer; if we don't like...

It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of...

It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of...

Tomorrow I shall be sixty-nine, but I do not seem to care. I did not...

Tomorrow I shall be sixty-nine, but I do not seem to care. I did not...

He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence

He who sleeps in continual noise is wakened by silence

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

What the American public wants in the theater is a tragedy with a happy ending.

What the American public wants in the theater is a tragedy with a happy ending.

A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too...

A man never sees all that his mother has been to him until it's too...

The action is best that secures the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

The action is best that secures the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

Wisdom and goodness are twin-born, one heart must hold both sisters, never seen apart.

The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested.

The secret of the man who is universally interesting is that he is universally interested.

There will presently be no room in the world for things; it will be filled...

There will presently be no room in the world for things; it will be filled...

The mortality of all inanimate things is terrible to me, but that of books most...

The mortality of all inanimate things is terrible to me, but that of books most...

Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not...

Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not...

People get nothing out of books but what they bring to them

People get nothing out of books but what they bring to them