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April 11th, 1999. "A Personal Library." I love vast libraries; yet there is a doubt If one be better with them or without, -- Unless he use them wisely, and, indeed, Knows the high art of what and how to read. J. G. Saxe: "The Library." The gradual formation of a personal library must be one of the greatest pursuits of one's life. Gibbon said that his personal library was the foundation of his works and the best comfort of his life. A personal library is not just a bunch of books, it is a collection of printed material (it may well be just so much bits and bites on a computer) which constitutes knowledge, knowledge in which the library owner has a personal interest. Dr. Johnson was of the view that knowledge was of two kinds, as he explained to Boswell: "We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." [Top] [Archives] [To Blupete's Essays] [Thoughts & Quotes of blupete] [Home] Peter Landry April, 1999 (2019)