A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.
Interpretation
A library is an invaluable resource for a community, providing knowledge and support.
This quote emphasizes the fundamental importance of libraries as a cornerstone of community development and education. Andrew Carnegie likens a library to a constant source of life and hope in a barren place, underscoring the idea that access to information and literature is crucial for the growth and well-being of individuals and society as a whole.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech at a library opening to highlight its importance.
Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse, seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose father is guide, exemplar, and friend. No servants to come between. These are the boys who are born to the best fortune.
To kill a man will be considered as disgusting [in the twentieth century] as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.
It is not the rich man's son that the young struggler for advancement has to fear in the race for life, nor his nephew, nor his cousin. Let him look out for the dark horse in the boy who begins by sweeping out the office.
You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big and live big.
Speculation is a parasite feeding upon values, creating none.
Don't be content with doing only your duty. Do more than your duty. It's the horse that finishes a neck ahead that wins the race.
I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school, and our life the classrooms.
If we commit ourselves to reading thus increasing our knowledge, only God limits how far we can go in this world.
In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
Children who have an education grow up to lead healthier lives - earn higher income, take better care of their families, contribute to their economies.
I should think I'm going to be a perpetual student.
A lot of parents today are terrified that something they say to their children might make them 'feel bad.' But, hey, if they've done something wrong, they should feel bad. Kids with a sense of responsibility, not entitlement, who know when to experience gratitude and humility, will be better at navigating the social shoals of college.
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