--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A library book lasts as long as a house…" description: "\"“A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not an article for mere consumption, but fairly of capital, and often in the cas..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/thomas-jefferson-43_book_a-library-book-lasts-as-long-as-a-house_22802.jpg" --- # A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of… ![“A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not an article for mere consumption, but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/thomas-jefferson-43_book_a-library-book-lasts-as-long-as-a-house_22802.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/thomas-jefferson-43_book_a-library-book-lasts-as-long-as-a-house_22802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/thomas-jefferson-43_book_a-library-book-lasts-as-long-as-a-house_22802.jpg) > ““A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not an article for mere consumption, but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.”” [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books are durable assets that preserve knowledge across generations, serving as intellectual capital rather than disposable content. **In simple terms:** Books as long‑term intellectual capital Key Takeaway Invest in books for lasting value Themes knowledge preservation intellectual capital long‑term value cultural heritage education Mood reflective respectful inspirational Type aphorism observation philosophical When to use this quote - building a personal library - academic research - professional development - family heirloom - community education Key Concepts books capital knowledge legacy Practical Applications - archiving research - enhancing lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - How does treating books as capital change your reading habits? - What responsibilities come with preserving knowledge? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/books-constitute-capital-a-library-book-lasts-as-long-as-a-house-for/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Sometimes the best reading comes just by accident. Someone talks about a book, or you're just wandering the stacks in the library, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/sometimes-the-best-reading-comes-just-by-accident-someone-talks-about/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“In the universal library, no book will be an island. It’s all connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-the-universal-library-no-book-will-be-an-island-it-s-all-connected/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“The thing about setting your life up so you could be completely alone was that you ended up completely alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/the-thing-about-setting-your-life-up-so-you-could-be-completely-alone/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [Living is a constant process of deciding what we are going to do. All we are given are possibilities to make ourselves one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-mamerto/living-is-a-constant-process-of-deciding-what-we-are-going-to-do-all/) [Edwin Mamerto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-mamerto/) > [Philosophers are in the habit of setting themselves before life and experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/philosophers-are-in-the-habit-of-setting-themselves-before-life-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Life means to have something definite to do-a mission to fulfill-and in the measure in which we avoid setting our life to something, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/life-means-to-have-something-definite-to-do-a-mission-to-fulfill-and/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“At the end of your life you want to arrive at a well-designed destination rather than an unexpected destination, and you do this by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/at-the-end-of-your-life-you-want-to-arrive-at-a-well-designed/) [Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/) > [I don't think the jet-setting life is really for most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/i-don-t-think-the-jet-setting-life-is-really-for-most-people/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [“Life is what it is, a gift that is given to us for a time—like a library book—that must eventually be returned. How should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/life-is-what-it-is-a-gift-that-is-given-to-us-for-a-time-like-a/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [“The first book I ever read that made me cry. I was seven and hadn’t realized books could do that. Just finish you like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-rivers/the-first-book-i-ever-read-that-made-me-cry-i-was-seven-and-hadn-t/) [Mary Ann Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-rivers/) > [If I was a book, I would like to be a library book, so I would be taken home by all different sorts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/if-i-was-a-book-i-would-like-to-be-a-library-book-so-i-would-be-taken/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“I know you're blond, but...” “Oh, you did not just say that!” I grab his book and whack his arm with it. “Ow! Hey!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-zart/i-know-you-re-blond-but-oh-you-did-not-just-say-that-i-grab-his-book/) [Lindy Zart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-zart/) > [“tastes and tales from Russia = I could not find the book in library or book store.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alla-danishavsky/tastes-and-tales-from-russia-i-could-not-find-the-book-in-library-or/) alla Danishavsky > [ “\[Cora:\] Did you hit your head on a library book?” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lave/cora-did-you-hit-your-head-on-a-library-book/) [Jessica Lave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lave/) ## More by Thomas Jefferson > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/states-and-the-federal-government-are-coordinate-departments-of-one/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Perceiving the order of nature to be that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue, I am willing to hope it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/perceiving-the-order-of-nature-to-be-that-individual-happiness-shall/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence, which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind down those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/free-government-is-founded-in-jealousy-and-not-in-confidence-it-is/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Though you cannot see, when you take one step, what will be the next, yet follow truth, justice, and plain dealing, and never fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/though-you-cannot-see-when-you-take-one-step-what-will-be-the-next/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Knowledge is power...knowled ge is safety...knowle dge is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/knowledge-is-power-knowled-ge-is-safety-knowle-dge-is-happiness/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Nothing but free argument, raillery and even ridicule will preserve the purity of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/nothing-but-free-argument-raillery-and-even-ridicule-will-preserve/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/when-the-people-are-afraid-of-the-government-that-s-tyranny-but-when/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-that-all-men-are-created/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Explore all 2,098 Thomas Jefferson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## 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": "“A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. 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