Who said “Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages…”?

Verified

Sir William Temple. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceMiscellanea (1690), Part II, "Upon the Ancient and Modern Learning".

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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Miscellanea (1690), Part II, "Upon the Ancient and Modern Learning"..

APA

Temple, S. W. (n.d.). Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/2882-books-like-proverbs-receive-their-chief-value-from/

MLA

Temple, Sir William. “Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/2882-books-like-proverbs-receive-their-chief-value-from/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Temple, Sir William. “Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/2882-books-like-proverbs-receive-their-chief-value-from/.

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More quotes by Sir William Temple

“When all is done, human life is, at the greatest and the best, but like a froward child, that must be played with and humored a little to keep it quiet till it falls asleep, and then the care is over.”
VerifiedMiscellanea (4th ed. pub. 1705), Part II, "Of Poetry". · evidenceDetails & citeHumankind
“When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't.”
Prayer
“Man alone is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed.”
Life and Living
“Who ever converses among old books will be hard to please among the new.”
Books and Reading
“No one ever was a great poet, that applied himself much to anything else.”
Poetry and Poets
“The only way for a rich man to be healthy is by exercise and abstinence, to live as if he were poor.”
Abstinence
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