--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were rich I would have many books…" description: "\"If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, paper generously opaque, and t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/will-durant-948_beads_if-i-were-rich-i-would-have-many-books-a_509702.png" --- # If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper… ![“If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young. I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night…” quote by Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/will-durant-948_beads_if-i-were-rich-i-would-have-many-books-a_509702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/will-durant-948_beads_if-i-were-rich-i-would-have-many-books-a_509702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/will-durant-948_beads_if-i-were-rich-i-would-have-many-books-a_509702.png) > “If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young. I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a string.” [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A whimsical wish for wealth to indulge in beautiful books and ritualistic reverence for knowledge, highlighting the sensual pleasure of reading. **In simple terms:** Desire to surround oneself with elegant books. Key Takeaway Cultivate a love for beautiful books. Themes wealth beauty knowledge Mood contemplative aspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - home library - gift giving - personal study Key Concepts aesthetic appreciation materialism Questions to Reflect On - How does book design affect your reading? - What truly enriches knowledge? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper intellectual value in favor of appearance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Candle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Opaque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opaque/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“What is it with gods and leather?” I muttered. Hades slid me a long look. “We make it look good.” They did. Couldn’t argue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/what-is-it-with-gods-and-leather-i-muttered-hades-slid-me-a-long-look/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [We have never been so rich in books. But there has never been a generation when there is so much twaddle in print for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/we-have-never-been-so-rich-in-books-but-there-has-never-been-a/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) > [“You can never be too thin, too rich, or have too many books”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-burden/you-can-never-be-too-thin-too-rich-or-have-too-many-books/) Carter Burden > [Things are opaque to us, and we are opaque to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/things-are-opaque-to-us-and-we-are-opaque-to-ourselves/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/it-is-good-that-the-window-should-be-transparent-because-the-street/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Derivatives serve practically no purpose except to enrich bankers through opaque pricing and to deceive investors through off-the-balance-sheet accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rickards/derivatives-serve-practically-no-purpose-except-to-enrich-bankers/) [James Rickards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rickards/) > [Ready comprehension is often a knee-jerk response and the most dangerous form of understanding. It blinks an opaque screen over your ability to learn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/ready-comprehension-is-often-a-knee-jerk-response-and-the-most/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I'm interested in when language fails, when it is opaque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-interested-in-when-language-fails-when-it-is-opaque/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I've got spider veins all over my legs, so I wear opaque tights all winter. All sorts of colours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/i-ve-got-spider-veins-all-over-my-legs-so-i-wear-opaque-tights-all/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [No one can cross the boundary into another -- for the simple reason that no one can gain access to himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-one-can-cross-the-boundary-into-another-for-the-simple-reason-that/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [ History is opaque. You see what comes out, not the script that produces events, \[...\] The generator of historical events is different from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/history-is-opaque-you-see-what-comes-out-not-the-script-that-produces/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Nothing is more opaque than absolute transparency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/nothing-is-more-opaque-than-absolute-transparency/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The new experience that has replaced dignified suffering is artificially prolonged, opaque, depersonalized maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/the-new-experience-that-has-replaced-dignified-suffering-is/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [No one has ever laughed at a pun who did not see in the one word a twofold meaning. To materialists this world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/no-one-has-ever-laughed-at-a-pun-who-did-not-see-in-the-one-word-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“However, if application A is opaque and application B provides a rich set of observability tools, it’s very likely that application B will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gregg/however-if-application-a-is-opaque-and-application-b-provides-a-rich/) Brendan Gregg ## More by Will Durant > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [In philosophy, as in politics, the longest distance between two points is a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/in-philosophy-as-in-politics-the-longest-distance-between-two-points/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [As long as there is poverty there will be gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/as-long-as-there-is-poverty-there-will-be-gods/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Hence the uselessness of logic: no one ever convinced anybody by logic; and even logicians use logic only as a source of income. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hence-the-uselessness-of-logic-no-one-ever-convinced-anybody-by-logic/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-the-past-is-dead-nothing-that-has-ever/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“There is hardly an absurdity of the past that cannot be found flourishing somewhere in the present. Underneath all civilization, ancient or modern, moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/there-is-hardly-an-absurdity-of-the-past-that-cannot-be-found/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/the-islamic-conquest-of-india-is-probably-the-bloodiest-story-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Intellectualism—the conception of man as above all a thinking animal, consciously adapting means to rationally chosen ends—fell sick with Rousseau, took to its bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/intellectualism-the-conception-of-man-as-above-all-a-thinking-animal/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“All those fascinating varieties of terrain—mountains and valleys, fiords and straits, gulfs and streams—that make Europe a panorama of diverse delight, have broken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-those-fascinating-varieties-of-terrain-mountains-and-valleys/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“To be great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling others; but to stand above the partialities and futilities of uninformed desire, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-be-great-is-not-to-be-placed-above-humanity-ruling-others-but-to/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“privately he composed—in French—a poem expressing his pleasure at having given the French a kick in the cul, which Carlyle delicately translated as “the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/privately-he-composed-in-french-a-poem-expressing-his-pleasure-at/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [ “\[N\]o language has ever had a word for a virgin man.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/n-o-language-has-ever-had-a-word-for-a-virgin-man/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“And in the individual too, justice is effective coördination, the harmonious functioning of the elements in a man, each in its fit place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/and-in-the-individual-too-justice-is-effective-co-rdination-the/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Explore all 320 Will Durant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) ## More Beads quotes > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [slowly the pale dew-beads of light lapped up from flowers can thicken, darken to gold: honey of the human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-levertov/slowly-the-pale-dew-beads-of-light-lapped-up-from-flowers-can-thicken/) [Denise Levertov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-levertov/) > [You think you know yourself, the world. You believe you've got a bead on everybody else's bullshit, but what about your own?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/you-think-you-know-yourself-the-world-you-believe-you-ve-got-a-bead/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [I think all writers are always collecting characters as we go along. Not just characters of course, we're collecting EVERYTHING. Bits and pieces of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-sokoloff/i-think-all-writers-are-always-collecting-characters-as-we-go-along/) Alexandra Sokoloff > [Deciding to chant the mantra a certain number of times daily will help foster the japa habit. We should always keep a rosary with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/deciding-to-chant-the-mantra-a-certain-number-of-times-daily-will/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [Then, when people saw you strolling around at high noon holding your rosary beads, they’d think, ‘Well, that can’t be a vampire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/then-when-people-saw-you-strolling-around-at-high-noon-holding-your/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [We must always remember that God is Love. "A fool indeed is he who, living on the banks of the Ganga, seeks to dig…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-always-remember-that-god-is-love-a-fool-indeed-is-he-who/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Every time some new huckster of angst-ridden metaphor is appointed by Art Forum, the congregation genuflects, stroking the catalog like a handful of Rosary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-ajay/every-time-some-new-huckster-of-angst-ridden-metaphor-is-appointed-by/) [Abe Ajay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-ajay/) > [You know, if I cleaned out my backpack, which I don't really use anymore, I'd find a bunch of beads. I have a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-connaughton/you-know-if-i-cleaned-out-my-backpack-which-i-don-t-really-use/) [Pat Connaughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-connaughton/) > [SHE is neither pink nor pale, And she never will be all mine; She learned her hands in a fairy-tale, And her mouth on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/she-is-neither-pink-nor-pale-and-she-never-will-be-all-mine-she/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Reading a text is more like tracing this process of constant flickering than it is like counting the beads on a necklace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/reading-a-text-is-more-like-tracing-this-process-of-constant/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Loyalty to God is alone fundamental. Feelings, words, deeds, must be beads strung on the string of duty. Let the world tell you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/loyalty-to-god-is-alone-fundamental-feelings-words-deeds-must-be/) [Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/) > [closed my eyes and listened. It was like music I'd heard all my life, even more than "This Lullaby." All those keystrokes, all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/closed-my-eyes-and-listened-it-was-like-music-i-d-heard-all-my-life/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [A very special case. A few years more, and that pretty creature who you love too much, I think, will, without ever loving them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachilde/a-very-special-case-a-few-years-more-and-that-pretty-creature-who-you/) [Rachilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachilde/) > [Friendship, awareness, happiness, all of the arts of the good life, are brilliant beads strung on the golden cord of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-awareness-happiness-all-of-the-arts-of-the-good-life-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 169 Beads quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young. 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