so i'm reading a book about books - and it is probably one of the greates things i have ever stumbled across. in fact there is a whole shelf at B&N dedicated to this thing called "books on books." - joy....joy....joy...cont'd.
anyway, here is a quote that struck me.
You may get together the works of Demosthenes, and his eight beautiful copies of Thucydides, all in the orator's own handwriting, and all the manuscripts that Sulla sent away from Athens to Italy-and you will be no nearer to culture at the the end of it, though you should sleep with them under your pillow or paste them together and wear them as a garmet; an ape is still an ape, says the proverb, though his trappings be of gold. So it is with you: you have always a book in your hand, you are always reading; but what is it all about, you have not an idea; you do prick up asinine ears at the lyre's sound. Books would be precious things indeed, if the mere possession of them guaranteed culture to their owner.
-Lucian of Samosata ~2nd century
i would replace the last occurrence of "culture" with any other number of words, but all in all relish this little diddy.
shalom.
anyway, here is a quote that struck me.
You may get together the works of Demosthenes, and his eight beautiful copies of Thucydides, all in the orator's own handwriting, and all the manuscripts that Sulla sent away from Athens to Italy-and you will be no nearer to culture at the the end of it, though you should sleep with them under your pillow or paste them together and wear them as a garmet; an ape is still an ape, says the proverb, though his trappings be of gold. So it is with you: you have always a book in your hand, you are always reading; but what is it all about, you have not an idea; you do prick up asinine ears at the lyre's sound. Books would be precious things indeed, if the mere possession of them guaranteed culture to their owner.
-Lucian of Samosata ~2nd century
i would replace the last occurrence of "culture" with any other number of words, but all in all relish this little diddy.
shalom.
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