Tradition is but a meteor, which, if it once falls, cannot be rekindled. Memory, once interrupted, is not to be recalled. But written learning is a fixed luminary, which, after the cloud that had hidden it has passed away, is again bright in its proper station. So books are faithful repositories, which may be awhile neglected or forgotten, but when opened again, will again impart instruction.
Johnson
The point
Written learning endures reliably, unlike fading tradition or memory.
Alternate wording
Books, Repositories68 words
Books are faithfal repositories, which may be awhile neglected or forgotten, but when they are opened again, will again impart their instruction. Memory once interrupted, is not to be recalled; written learning is a fixed luminary, which after the cloud that had hidden it has passed away, is again bright in its proper station. Tradition is but a meteor, which, if it once falls, cannot be rekindled. Johnson.