During Long Periods Of History, The Mode

To A Book Collector, You See, The True Freedom Of All Books Is Somewhere On His Shelves.

The Power Of A Text When It Is Read Is Different From The Power It Has When It Is Copied Out. Only The Copied Text Thus Commands The Soul Of Him Who Is Occupied With It, Whereas The Mere Reader Never Discovers The New Aspects Of His Inner Self That Are Opened By The Text, That Road Cut Through The Interior Jungle Forever Closing Behind It: Because The Reader Follows The Movement Of His Mind In The Free Flight Of Day-dreaming, Whereas The Copier Submits It To Command.

What Has Been Forgotten Is Never Something Purely Individual. Everything Forgotten Mingles With What Has Been Forgotten Of The Prehistoric World, Forms Countless, Uncertain, Changing Compounds, Yielding A Constant Flow Of New, Strange Products.

Having A Clear Faith, Based On The Creed Of The Church Is Often Labeled Today As Fundamentalism. Whereas Relativism, Which Is Letting Oneself Be Tossed And Of All The Ways Of Acquiring Books, Writing Them Oneself Is Regarded As The Most Praiseworthy Method. Writers Are Really People Who Write Books Not Because They Are Poor, But Because They Are Dissatisfied With The Books Which They Could Buy But Do Not Like.

You Could Tell A Lot About A Man By The Books He Keeps - His Tastes, His Interest, His Habits.