This essay was written by Tran, van Dien in 1960.
We all have friends, and friends are of different kinds: people around us,
birds and animals, mountains and hills… But there still is another kind of
friend. It is book and literature, therefore it is said that “a good book is
a good friend”. Let us examine what books have done for our good and what
duties we should have towards them.
Body of the essay
Like a good friend, a good book brings much help to our daily life.
1.- From intellectual point of
view: A book is a very good
friend always ready to teach us all branches of knowledge and tell us good
things to do and bad things to avoid. Moreover, it is the easiest friend of
all; we can come to him any time we like and talk to him as long as we want.
When we are tired, we can leave him without any excuse, because he was born
just to please you.
2.- From sentimental point of view: In books are hidden the
feelings and emotions of the author. A book is a good friend, on whom we can
rely and with whom we can interchange ideas and feelings. Better than any other
friend, he can comfort us, support us and help us through the most tedious
moment of life. Montesquieu confessed sincerely: “Learning has been for me the most
efficient medicine against the disgust of life. No sorrows of mine cannot be
chased away by an hour of reading”.
Conclusion
A good book is indeed a good friend. As we love our friends, esteem, respect
and believe them, so we should love and trust books. We can make fortune by our
friends’ help, we can also get rich thanks to books. If we become famous
through our friends, why cannot we remain immortal thanks to books? So, let us
have a good book for friend; it will be of great help to us throughout our
life.
