But some people do lend books, and have them returned too,—in good second-hand condition. And so it comes about that the proper use of books is made the subject of another class of mottoes.
My Friend! Should you this book peruse,
Please to protect it from abuse:
Nor soil, nor stain, nor mark its page,
Nor give it premature old age:
And, when it has effected all,
Please to return it ere I call.
The following verse is common property and is found on several plates:—
If thou art borrowed by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be
To read, to study, not to lend,
And to return to me.
Not that imparted learning doth
Diminish learning’s store,
But books, I find, if often lent,
Return to me no more.
Read slowly,
Pause frequently,
Think seriously,
Return duly with the corners of the leaves not turned down.