"In books lies the soul of the whole past time the articulate and audible voice of the past when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream".
Thomas Carlyle, 1840
I visited the State Library of NSW yesterday with a dear friend, and we both stopped and read this quote, incised into sandstone in the Mitchell vestibule, and sighed. So true we said.
With these words Thomas Carlyle seems to be reminding us that once we have died, have vanished like a dream; it is books that remain and it is books that shall hold memory.
That books shall hold both the soul of the past matters as much to me, as that they hold the stories and facts of the past,. That they retain the intention, the purpose, the desires of the past as well as acting as reminders of what happened and who said what and where and when is a special combination.
The notion of books offering both an audible and articulate voice to the past is comforting. That the past can still be heard and understood in elegant ways, because of books.
I love that thought, all that can live on because of books, and how they can provide us with a link to the past, an awareness and understanding of what was - I find sometimes it also helps explain the present. Another great quote, thank you.
ReplyDeleteSo much wisdom in these words isn't there? And a true sense of comfort for me as well - the safety of books holding and retaining. We need to make sure we never lose them. Go well.
DeleteFiona, "great minds"! As a child we used to visit the Mitchel Library fairly regularly (as we used to call it then) so it is no surprise that the State Library became one of my favourite haunts as a young adult. There are so many quotes I could say are "my favourites" but this one I feel is my actual favourite. It embodies everything I believe in as far as my work is concerned. It's all for future generations. It is also why being close to and interacting with collections and like-minded people is so important to me. Thanks for sharing, I love it!
ReplyDeleteHi G - I just discovered that blogger has been hiding my comments and so am going backwards trying to find them all! Apologies. This is a marvellous quote and it resonates through and through. I could imagine you haunting that library space so much! I do love a great public library - what treasures they re; and what treasures they hold. Glad that this one was nice memory of you too!
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