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Could anyone please help me understand this quote of Milton from the self-help book "Pushing to the front, Chapter LXII: A College Education at Home" by Orison Swett Marden:

"Books," says Milton, "do preserve as in a violl, the purest efficacie and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. A good Booke is the pretious life-blood of a master spirit, imbalm'd and treasur'd up on purpose to a Life beyond Life."

Thanks

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  • It might be helpful if you edit your question to say what specifically you're unclear about in that quote. Is it just the spelling? The meaning (it is written in a very convoluted style!)? One specific sentence or phrase within the passage? The more specific your question is, the better answerers can help you with the part that's causing difficulty.
    – Quack E. Duck
    Commented Jun 28 at 15:40

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John Milton lived in the 1600s, when English spelling conventions were not as standardized as they are now. Here is the same quote, but with modern spellings:

"Books," says Milton, "do preserve as in a vial, the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a Life beyond Life."

The meaning is as follows:

  • First sentence of the quote: Books provide a 'window' into their author's mind, letting the reader know the writer's thoughts/opinions, even long after the time in which the author lived.
  • Second sentence, first part: Just as blood carries nutrients to the body, good books form the "nutrients" on which a scholarly/educated person's mind can grow. (I believe John Milton is using "master spirit" to mean "person of above-average intellectual capabilities.")
  • Second sentence, second part: For this, it's necessary to understand that Milton was a religious writer, and many of his works are on the topic of morality and theology. He's saying that the wisdom which readers gain by understanding the book's message and applying it in their own lives is not limited to their biological lifetime, because if reading the book leads them to grow in virtue, this is something they can take with them to "Life beyond Life," i.e. Heaven.

I hope that helps clarify the meaning for you!

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  • With 'window' you departed from the central alchemical metaphor.
    – TimR
    Commented Jun 28 at 20:39
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That's quite a chunk of old language! First, recognize that the spelling doesn't match what's used today. Here's a version using modern standardized spelling:

Books do preserve, as in a vial, the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a Life beyond Life.

I leave it to you to look up any words you're unsure of in a dictionary, now that you know the modern spelling. But a general paraphrase of the meaning is: "Books preserve the nature and identity of the person who wrote them, so in a way their spirit lives on. An analogy would be how we preserve 'essences' or 'extracts' of spices or other perishable things."

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  • Nice, and you were 1 minute ahead of me :)
    – Quack E. Duck
    Commented Jun 28 at 15:36

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