--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Indeed, the best books have a use, like…" description: "\"Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones, which is above or beside their design, not anticipated in the preface,not concluded in the a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/henry-david-thoreau-20_appendix_indeed-the-best-books-have-a-use-like-st_968021.jpg" --- # Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones… ![“Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones, which is above or beside their design, not anticipated in the preface,not concluded in the appendix. Even Virgil's poetry serves a very different use to me today from what it did to his contemporaries. It has often an acquired and…” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/henry-david-thoreau-20_appendix_indeed-the-best-books-have-a-use-like-st_968021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/henry-david-thoreau-20_appendix_indeed-the-best-books-have-a-use-like-st_968021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c3/henry-david-thoreau-20_appendix_indeed-the-best-books-have-a-use-like-st_968021.jpg) > “Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones, which is above or beside their design, not anticipated in the preface,not concluded in the appendix. Even Virgil's poetry serves a very different use to me today from what it did to his contemporaries. It has often an acquired and accidental value merely, proving that man is still man in the world.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books can serve unexpected purposes beyond their intended design, revealing new values over time. **In simple terms:** Books have hidden uses. Key Takeaway Seek unexpected value in literature. Themes literature serendipity interpretation Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - personal reading - academic study - teaching - creative writing Key Concepts cultural context historical reception Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected value have you found in a book? - How do you reassess old texts? A Different Perspective Not all books reveal new uses; personal bias influences perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appendix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appendix/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Sticks and stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks-and-stones/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [With paper printed books, you have certain freedoms. You can acquire the book anonymously by paying cash, which is the way I always buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/with-paper-printed-books-you-have-certain-freedoms-you-can-acquire/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [Go to the bookstore and look at how many bookshelves are filled with books trying to explain how to work the devices. We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/go-to-the-bookstore-and-look-at-how-many-bookshelves-are-filled-with/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [Learning is, in too many cases, but a foil to common sense; a substitute for true knowledge. Books are less often made use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/learning-is-in-too-many-cases-but-a-foil-to-common-sense-a-substitute-2/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I love picture books - with picture books, you can use words and pictures as a double act, even tell two different versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mini-grey/i-love-picture-books-with-picture-books-you-can-use-words-and/) [Mini Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mini-grey/) > [Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book. Save the time of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-books-are-for-all-every-book/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg-2/it-should-be-done-with-the-same-degree-of-alacrity-and-nonchalance/) Daniel S Greenberg > [Idleness is an appendix to nobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/idleness-is-an-appendix-to-nobility/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) > [In the appendix to my History of the Russian Revolution I give a detailed and documented study of the ideas of the Bolshevik party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/in-the-appendix-to-my-history-of-the-russian-revolution-i-give-a/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [The thinnest I've ever been was after I had my appendix out, during the London run of The Seagull. I went down to 112…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mulligan/the-thinnest-i-ve-ever-been-was-after-i-had-my-appendix-out-during/) [Carey Mulligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-mulligan/) > [I had my appendix out when I was 11, and that was the last time I was in a hospital. That was a one-night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-had-my-appendix-out-when-i-was-11-and-that-was-the-last-time-i-was/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“Appendix, Number 23. The Rutter circular.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/appendix-number-23-the-rutter-circular/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are only two perfectly useless things in the world,” he quipped. “One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-the-world-he-quipped/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [Everything before Jesus is preface. Everything after Jesus is appendix. Jesus is the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/everything-before-jesus-is-preface-everything-after-jesus-is-appendix/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [\*Appendix usually means "small outgrowth from large intestine," but in this case it means "additional information accompanying main text." Or are those really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/appendix-usually-means-small-outgrowth-from-large-intestine-but-in/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. Moreover I have tried it fairly and, strange as it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/as-for-doing-good-that-is-one-of-the-professions-which-is-full/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A traveler who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-traveler-who-looks-at-things-with-an-impartial-eye-may-see-what-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Appendix quotes > [The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-pace-of-science-forces-the-pace-of-technique-theoretical-physics/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [\*Appendix usually means "small outgrowth from large intestine," but in this case it means "additional information accompanying main text." Or are those really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudonymous-bosch/appendix-usually-means-small-outgrowth-from-large-intestine-but-in/) [Pseudonymous Bosch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pseudonymous-bosch/) > [Everything before Jesus is preface. Everything after Jesus is appendix. Jesus is the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/everything-before-jesus-is-preface-everything-after-jesus-is-appendix/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [“There are only two perfectly useless things in the world,” he quipped. “One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-the-world-he-quipped/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [“Appendix, Number 23. The Rutter circular.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/appendix-number-23-the-rutter-circular/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had my appendix out when I was 11, and that was the last time I was in a hospital. That was a one-night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-had-my-appendix-out-when-i-was-11-and-that-was-the-last-time-i-was/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The thinnest I've ever been was after I had my appendix out, during the London run of The Seagull. I went down to 112…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-mulligan/the-thinnest-i-ve-ever-been-was-after-i-had-my-appendix-out-during/) [Carey Mulligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-mulligan/) > [In the appendix to my History of the Russian Revolution I give a detailed and documented study of the ideas of the Bolshevik party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/in-the-appendix-to-my-history-of-the-russian-revolution-i-give-a/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Idleness is an appendix to nobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burton/idleness-is-an-appendix-to-nobility/) [Robert Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burton/) > [It should be done with the same degree of alacrity and nonchalance that you would display in authorizing a highly intelligent trained bear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-s-greenberg-2/it-should-be-done-with-the-same-degree-of-alacrity-and-nonchalance/) Daniel S Greenberg > [The modern king has become a vermiform appendix: useless when quiet; when obtrusive, in danger of removal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/the-modern-king-has-become-a-vermiform-appendix-useless-when-quiet/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [There are only two perfectly useless things in this world. One is an appendix and the other is Poincaré.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-clemenceau/there-are-only-two-perfectly-useless-things-in-this-world-one-is-an/) [Georges Clemenceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-clemenceau/) > [A man's life is an appendix to his heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/a-man-s-life-is-an-appendix-to-his-heart/) [Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/) > [“Even if we have a reliable criterion for detecting design, and even if that criterion tells us that biological systems are designed, it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/even-if-we-have-a-reliable-criterion-for-detecting-design-and-even-if/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [I have bitten down or swallowed a few pellets through the years. My uncle had his appendix removed and there were over 100 lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/i-have-bitten-down-or-swallowed-a-few-pellets-through-the-years-my/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) [Browse all 33 Appendix quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appendix/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones, which is above or beside their design, not anticipated in the preface,not concluded in the appendix. Even Virgil's poetry serves a very different use to me today from what it did to his contemporaries. 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