"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science
crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.
Without books, the development of civilization
would have been impossible. They are the engines
of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses"
(as a poet said) "erected in the sea of time."
They are companions, teachers, magicians,
bankers of the treasures of the mind.
Books are humanity in print."
2 comments:
Dr John,
I can tell you that books are not dead in this family - each of us has a book (or two) near us all the time =). I just saw a special about the Mayans and how the invading Spanish (and priests) destroyed all the "Booklets" they had because they thought they were just filled with "devil" rituals. The couple that did survive show more than that and what an amazing and vibrant culture the Mayans did have. Imagine what could have been learned from them if those books had been saved and studied over the years.
Lil' Sis
Lil Sis,
The Spanish seemed to have a habit of doing that sort of thing (they also destroyed the library in Tenochtitlan when they conquered the Aztecs. Of course, one sees that in many instances throughout history. A couple famous examples include during the "Christianization" of the Roman Empire, when they set out to destroy all the classic Greek literature they could find, and of course the Nazi book burnings. I guess one way to llok at those events is as evidence of the power contained in the books their enemies sought to destroy, even if it wasn't of the heretical nature they charged.
Dr. John
Post a Comment