Augustine Birrell Quotes

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world.

Books are like my one and only joy.

I feel happy and secure when I'm on my bed with a good book... I forget everything which is terrible in our world.

That perfect tranquillity of life, which is nowhere to be found but in retreat, a faithful friend and a good library.

A book is good company. It is full of conversation without loquacity. It comes to your longing with full instruction, but pursues you never.

You may not be able to change the course of government, but you can achieve some peace. And books were the path to that. I grew up in a house where books were everywhere.

In this world good books make up for the absence of good companions, so that all Indians, if they want to live happily in jail, should accustom themselves to reading good books.

Public libraries were a huge source of comfort and joy for me when I was growing up. I still spend time there.

…books are always good company if you have the right sort. Let me pick out some for you.' And Mrs. Jo made a bee-line to the well-laden shelves, which were the joy of her heart and the comfort of her life.

Give me a bed and a book and I am happy.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

A personal library is a reflection of who you are and who you want to be, of what you value and what you desire, of how much you know and how much more you'd like to know.

We all agree that its fit to be as Happy as we can, and we need no Instructor to teach us this Knowledge, 'tis born with us, and is inseparable from our Being, but we very much need to be Inform'd what is the true Way to Happiness.

I've found joy, peace and perspective. Those are very good things to have.

The thing we're all looking for is happiness, and if we achieve just a modicum of that or even a little piece of serenity even for five minutes a day, we're very lucky.

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books.

What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books.

Your library is your paradise.

Books were my window on the world. Growing up at the Elephant and Castle, which was very rough, my paradise was the library.

I love shutting my front door and being at home with just my dog and me. That's when I'm happiest.

Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library.

I go to the ocean to calm down, to reconnect with the creator, to just be happy.

As a child, I spent a lot of time at the library.

In my solitude, many miles from men and houses, I am in a childishly happy and carefree state of mind, which you are incapable of understanding unless someone explains it to you.

My mother brought us to the library every week, and I read a lot. That's what kept me company. I went from school to school, but there was always reading.