Books think for me. — Charles Lamb · Smartyfair

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Books think for me. — Charles Lamb · Smartyfair

Books think for me.

Charles Lamb1775–1834 · essayist · 1700s-1800s EnglandCharles Lamb was an English essayist famous for his warm, funny, and personal essays written under the pen name Elia.1 quote

Source foundStoriesLearning

In plain words

Open a book and let it think with you.

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think

Where these words come from

How sure this is: 85% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: 'Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading,' Last Essays of Elia (essay first published 1822; collected 1833) — Wikiquote sourced section, named essay.
Work: Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading (Last Essays of Elia)
Occasion: 1822
Sources checked: en.wikiquote.orgChecked using claude-fable-5, 21 August 2026Sourced section: Last Essays of Elia — 'Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading'

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More on stories

A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.Chinese proverb

More history

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

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Do not be guilty of possessing a library of learned books while lacking learning yourself.

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One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.

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I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

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In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

The wound is the place where the light enters you.

You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

Marcus Aurelius

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

Marcus Aurelius