The feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who
love reading. "I have friends," said Petrarch, "whose society is
extremely agreeable to me, they are of all ages, and of every country.
They have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field,
and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences. It is easy
to gain access to them, for they are always at my service, and I admit
them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They
are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them.
Some relate to me the events of past ages, while others reveal to me the
secrets of Nature. Some teach me how to live, and others how to die.
Some, by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits;
while others give fortitude to my mind, and teach me the important
lesson how to deport myself, and to depend wholly on myself. They open
to me, in short, the various avenues of all the arts and sciences and
upon their information I may safely rely in all emergencies. In return
for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a
convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation where they may
repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tranquility
of retirement than with the tumults of society."
--_Petrarch._
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