The Price of Books
George Orwell:
In any discussion of the price of books one must take two propositions as axiomatic. One is that the more the public reads – provided that it is not reading sheer trash – the better. The other is that it is undesirable that writers should starve to death. And it is important to realise that they would starve, or at least would have to find other means of support, if cheap books were the rule instead of the exception.
“Are Books too Dear?” in Essays, edited by John Carey, p. 660.