Based on John Donne's famous meditation, Nuccio Ordine expands his "ideal library" by inviting us to read—and reread—more select pages from world literature. Convinced that a brilliant quotation can spark a reader's curiosity and encourage them to read the work from which it originates, Ordine continues his defense of the classics, demonstrating that literature is essential for fostering understanding and compassion among people. In an era marked by individualism, terrible social and economic inequalities, fear of the "stranger," and racism, these pages invite us to understand that "living for others" is an opportunity to give our lives meaning. Like The Usefulness of the Useless and Classics for Life, this new volume is a defense and an anthem of everything that, unfortunately, a segment of society tends to disregard because it brings no material benefit.