Show For the Purchase of Literature Carlyle If a man spends lavishly on his library you call him mada biblio maniac But you never call one a horsemaniac though men ruin themselves them-selves every day by their horses and you do not hear of people ruining themselves by the books Or to go lower still how much do you think the contents of the bookshelves of the United Kingdom public or private would fetch as compared with the contents con-tents of its wine cellars What position po-sition Would its expenditure on literature litera-ture take as compared with Its ex penditure on luxurious eating We talk of foodfor the mind as of food forthe body nowa good book contans such food inexhaustibly it is provision for life and for the best part of us yet how long most people would look at the best book before they would give the price of a large turbot for it = |