A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps. One should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men. A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting us in age. Men often discover their similarity to each other by the common love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, "Love me, love my dog." But there is more wisdom in this: "Love my, love my book." The book is a truer and higher bond  of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. _  A good book is often the best container of a life preserving the best that life could think out; for the world of a man's life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which become our steady companions and comforters. Books are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay , but good books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author's minds, ages ago. The great and good do not die, even in this world. Preserved in books, their spirits walked abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect  to which one still listens. The writer introduces the topic of the passage by_.
describing life experience of great writers telling his own story of reading good books presenting the best thoughts in good books comparing good books to good friends in life