Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul.

Matthew Kelly
About This Quote

In his book, “How to Read a Book,” Mortimer Adler traces the history of the quotation from its origins in the 13th century to the present day. He notes that it first appeared in a 13th-century encyclopedia written by a Dominican prelate named John of Salisbury. He then relates that the author of a 16th-century book on rhetoric, Andrea Alciato, highlighted the quote as a “proverb” and attributed it to “some wise personage.” In other words, this quote was not attributed to any particular source.

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