--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Except a living man there is nothing more…" description: "\"“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we never saw, who lived, perhaps, th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/charles-kingsley-1896_book_except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-mor_119819.jpg" --- # Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a… ![“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we never saw, who lived, perhaps, thousands of miles away. And yet these, in those little sheets of paper, speak to us, arouse us, terrify us, teach us, comfort us, open their hearts…” quote by Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/charles-kingsley-1896_book_except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-mor_119819.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/charles-kingsley-1896_book_except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-mor_119819.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/charles-kingsley-1896_book_except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-mor_119819.jpg) > ““Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we never saw, who lived, perhaps, thousands of miles away. And yet these, in those little sheets of paper, speak to us, arouse us, terrify us, teach us, comfort us, open their hearts to us as brothers.”” [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books act as bridges to distant lives, allowing us to feel, learn, and be moved by voices that have long passed. **In simple terms:** Reading connects us to unseen, past human experiences. Key Takeaway Literature preserves and conveys human consciousness across time. Themes connection memory empathy knowledge Mood wonder reverence nostalgia Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - studying history through diaries - reading letters from ancestors - exploring ancient myths Key Concepts intergenerational dialogue the power of narrative Practical Applications - use books to foster empathy in education - incorporate personal narratives in therapy Questions to Reflect On - How does reading alter our perception of strangers? - What responsibilities do we have to the voices we hear in books? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-message-1399841/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Human Souls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-souls-371309/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Living Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-man-276850/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Miles away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles-away/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheets/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“There is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a message to us from the dead, from human souls we never saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-book-it-may-be-a-message-to-us/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [In the big factory of perfecting human souls, the Earth was kind of tumbler. 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Many will have human souls to be material: others make God himself a corporeal being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/natural-religion-itself-seems-to-decay-very-much-many-will-have-human/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [All human souls, never so bedarkened, love light; light once kindled spreads till all is luminous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-souls-never-so-bedarkened-love-light-light-once-kindled/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [She wondered if, when human souls try to get too near each other, they do not inevitably become mere blurs to each other's vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/she-wondered-if-when-human-souls-try-to-get-too-near-each-other-they/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [This fire that we call Loving is too strong for human minds. But just right for human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/this-fire-that-we-call-loving-is-too-strong-for-human-minds-but-just/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Writers are the engineers of human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/writers-are-the-engineers-of-human-souls/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [No amount of scholastic attainment, of able and profound exposition of brilliant and stirring eloquence can atone for the absence of a deep impassioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brainerd/no-amount-of-scholastic-attainment-of-able-and-profound-exposition-of/) [David Brainerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brainerd/) > [Stalin said artists are the engineers of human souls. I wanted to show what happens to the soul when the engineers get through with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-kratochvil/stalin-said-artists-are-the-engineers-of-human-souls-i-wanted-to-show/) [Antonin Kratochvil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-kratochvil/) > [“He imagined the pain of the world to be like some formless parasitic being seeking out the warmth of human souls wherein to incubate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-imagined-the-pain-of-the-world-to-be-like-some-formless-parasitic/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Writers are engineers of human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yury-olesha/writers-are-engineers-of-human-souls/) [Yury Olesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yury-olesha/) > [Not all human souls but only the pious ones are divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-hermes/not-all-human-souls-but-only-the-pious-ones-are-divine/) [Georg Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-hermes/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More by Charles Kingsley > [A fine lady; by which term I wish to express the result of that perfect education in taste and manner, down to every gesture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/a-fine-lady-by-which-term-i-wish-to-express-the-result-of-that/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Those clouds are angels' robes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/those-clouds-are-angels-robes/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-one-of-those-men-who-possess-almost-every-gift-except-the-gift/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Do you feel that you have lost your way in life? Then God Himself will show you your way. Are you utterly helpless, worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/do-you-feel-that-you-have-lost-your-way-in-life-then-god-himself-will/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was not only, I soon discovered, a water drinker, but a strict vegetarian, to which, perhaps, he owed a great deal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-not-only-i-soon-discovered-a-water-drinker-but-a-strict/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Look at the bow in the cloud, in the very rain itself. That is a sign that the sun, though you cannot see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/look-at-the-bow-in-the-cloud-in-the-very-rain-itself-that-is-a-sign/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Beauty is God's handwriting — a wayside sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/beauty-is-god-s-handwriting-a-wayside-sacrament-welcome-it-in-every/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Men must work, and women must weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/men-must-work-and-women-must-weep/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [... the heroism of the average mother. Ah! When I think of that broad fact, I gather hope again for poor humanity; and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/the-heroism-of-the-average-mother-ah-when-i-think-of-that-broad-fact/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/be-good-sweet-maid-and-let-who-will-be-clever/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Music has been called the speech of the angels; I will go farther and call it the speech of God Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/music-has-been-called-the-speech-of-the-angels-i-will-go-farther-and/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [It has been said that true religion will make a man a more thorough gentleman than all the courts in Europe. And it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/it-has-been-said-that-true-religion-will-make-a-man-a-more-thorough/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) [Explore all 199 Charles Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. 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