--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man reading ought to be a man intensely…" description: "\"“Man reading ought to be a man intensely alive. The book ought to be a ball of light in his hands. ”\" — Ezra Pound" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/ezra-pound-1208_book_man-reading-ought-to-be-a-man-intensely_1301782.png" --- # Man reading ought to be a man intensely alive. The book… ![“Man reading ought to be a man intensely alive. The book ought to be a ball of light in his hands.” quote by Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/ezra-pound-1208_book_man-reading-ought-to-be-a-man-intensely_1301782.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/ezra-pound-1208_book_man-reading-ought-to-be-a-man-intensely_1301782.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddf/ezra-pound-1208_book_man-reading-ought-to-be-a-man-intensely_1301782.png) > ““Man reading ought to be a man intensely alive. The book ought to be a ball of light in his hands. ”” [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should be a vivid, alive experience, with books acting as illuminating objects in one's hands. **In simple terms:** Reading is an intense, illuminating act. Key Takeaway Engage deeply with books. Themes reading vividness illumination Mood inspired thoughtful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - creative inspiration Key Concepts literature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does a book become a "ball of light"? - What reading practices enhance vividness? A Different Perspective Not all reading feels vivid; personal preference varies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-ought-3098068/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Man Intensely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-intensely-665414/) [Man Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-reading-1384286/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-ought-712178/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/man-reading-should-be-man-intensely-alive-the-book-should-be-a-ball/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Reading ought to mean understanding; writing ought to mean knowing something; believing ought to mean comprehending; when you desire a thing, you will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/reading-ought-to-mean-understanding-writing-ought-to-mean-knowing/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Sometimes a man is intensely, even passionately, attached to suffering — that is a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/sometimes-a-man-is-intensely-even-passionately-attached-to-suffering/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“I felt a little like a man reading a very grim book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-felt-a-little-like-a-man-reading-a-very-grim-book/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [They say man he reading rhymes off his iPhone, no I texting your girl meet me at my home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-ave/they-say-man-he-reading-rhymes-off-his-iphone-no-i-texting-your-girl/) [Troy Ave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-ave/) > [“Instead of making myself write the book I ought to write, the novel that was expected of me, I conjured up the book I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/instead-of-making-myself-write-the-book-i-ought-to-write-the-novel/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Whenever a text-book is written of real educational worth, you may be quite certain that some reviewer will say that it will be difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/whenever-a-text-book-is-written-of-real-educational-worth-you-may-be/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Your book bill ought to be your biggest extravagance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/your-book-bill-ought-to-be-your-biggest-extravagance/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“If I am a man of some reading, I am a man of no retentiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montaigne/if-i-am-a-man-of-some-reading-i-am-a-man-of-no-retentiveness/) [Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montaigne/) > [Words mean more than we mean to express when we use them: so a whole book ought to mean a great deal more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/words-mean-more-than-we-mean-to-express-when-we-use-them-so-a-whole/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“The book the man is reading is the Word of God, the Bible. It has become both the focus of and the reason for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-book-the-man-is-reading-is-the-word-of-god-the-bible-it-has/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“A good book ought to have something simple about it. And, like Eve, it ought to come from somewhere near the third rib: there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/a-good-book-ought-to-have-something-simple-about-it-and-like-eve-it/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [ “as \[ale\] is the liquor of modern historians,..., it ought likewise to be the potation of their readers, since every book ought to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/as-ale-is-the-liquor-of-modern-historians-it-ought-likewise-to-be-the/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [The best friend a man can have is reading and writing, and the bad ones to avoid are Go and chess and flute and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hojo-soun/the-best-friend-a-man-can-have-is-reading-and-writing-and-the-bad/) [Hojo Soun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hojo-soun/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## More by Ezra Pound > [“I once saw a small child go to an electric light switch as say, "Mamma, can I open the light?" She was using the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-once-saw-a-small-child-go-to-an-electric-light-switch-as-say-mamma/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Till now they send him dreams and no more deed; So doth he flame again with might for action, Forgetful of the council of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/till-now-they-send-him-dreams-and-no-more-deed-so-doth-he-flame-again/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [A great age of literature is perhaps always a great age of translations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/a-great-age-of-literature-is-perhaps-always-a-great-age-of/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [It would be about as easy for an American to become a Chinaman or a Hindoo as for him to acquire an Englishness or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/it-would-be-about-as-easy-for-an-american-to-become-a-chinaman-or-a/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Poets who are not interested in music are, or become, bad poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/poets-who-are-not-interested-in-music-are-or-become-bad-poets/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Anyone who is too lazy to master the comparatively small glossary necessary to understand Chaucer deserves to be shut out from the reading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/anyone-who-is-too-lazy-to-master-the-comparatively-small-glossary/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. 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Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/any-general-statement-is-like-a-cheque-drawn-on-a-bank-its-value/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [The author's conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/the-author-s-conviction-on-this-day-of-new-year-is-that-music-begins/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [In case I conk out, this is provisionally what I have to do: I must clarify obscurities; I must make clearer definite ideas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/in-case-i-conk-out-this-is-provisionally-what-i-have-to-do-i-must/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I could I trust starve like a gentleman. It's listed as part of the poetic training, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/i-could-i-trust-starve-like-a-gentleman-it-s-listed-as-part-of-the/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) [Explore all 273 Ezra Pound quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) ## 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! 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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. 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