The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books serve a decorative purpose in a home while also enriching lives through knowledge.
This quote emphasizes the importance of books in a home, suggesting that they are not merely decorative objects but rather essential elements that enhance our living spaces. Through displaying books, a house is not only beautified but is also filled with the potential for knowledge, exploration, and growth, reflecting the character and interests of those who live there.
Themes
BooksKnowledgeEducationHomeFurnitureBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club meeting to discuss interior design, one might quote this to emphasize the significance of books.
More from Henry Ward Beecher
All quotes βA man who cannot get angry is like a stream that cannot overflow, that is always turbid. Sometimes indignation is as good as a thunderstorm in summer, clearing and cooling the air.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No one can deal with the hearts of men unless he has the sympathy which is given by love.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
No man can tell if he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
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Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.
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The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
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Any man is educated who knows where to get knowledge when he needs it, and how to organize that knowledge into definite plans of action.
Napoleon HillRead