Through all of my youth these books were my companions, and now, as I write these lines, after sixty years, they still look down upon me with their old friendliness. – James L. Whitney, “Reminiscences of an Old Librarian,” November 1909

A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend. – Author unknown

Classics are not classics because hoary with age — they are the steel balls which have worn down mountains but remained unchanged in the mill of time. – Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)

Books that have become classics — books that have had their day and now get more praise than perusal — always remind me of retired colonels and majors and captains who, having reached the age limit, find themselves retired on half pay. – Thomas Bailey Aldrich