Bonfire of the Vanities
I have lost quite a few books over the years - usually by lending these out to friends who then either forget to return them or like the books so much they couldn't part with them. (Thinking that its the latter is somehow comforting).
Some of my 'lost' books weren't even mine at the time - sometimes I would see something I really like at a bookstore and not be able to buy it. This is usually because I've already spent too much on books (or am low on funds!) or maybe I didn't think the book was worth buying at the time (I'm usually wrong on this). I quickly learned to formulate my own maxim when deciding whether or not I should buy a book: when in doubt, buy it. (Note that this only works on books).
The pain that a book lover feels for a lost book can only be understood by fellow bibliophiles. I've maybe lost, oh, 15 or 20 books in this way. That seems like a lot, but when you consider all the lost books of history, it seems miniscule.
Consider the title of this post. The Bonfire of the Vanities (not the book by Tom Wolfe or the movie adaptation), but the actual event. In 1494, after the overthrow of the Medici, Girolamo Savonarola (a Dominican priest), became the sole ruler of Florence. He then went about transforming Florence into a 'Christian and religious republic.' In 1497, he and his followers went around Florence to collect books, paintings, mirrors, dresses and other works associated with 'low morals'. This was the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities. Many irreplaceable books and works of art was lost in that fire long ago at the Piazza della Signoria.
Or the famous library at Alexandria. At its peak, there were approximately 400,000 - 700,000 scrolls, the largest in the Medterranean world at the time. How did it get so big? Part of the reason is that Ptolemy III required that all visitors to the city surrender all their books and scrolls - copies of these were made and given to their owners. The originals remained in the library. Now there's a bibliophile! It is also said that Aristotle's own private collection helped start the library. Its an obscure fact that only a small fraction of the works from the 'classical' period have come down to us - many of the plays and comedies exist only as fragments. Who knows what other treasures we would have if the library wasn't destroyed by fire, as some say? (Note that how the destruction took place is a matter of some debate).
All these lost books make mine miniscule in comparison, but it still doesn't take away the sting.
Some of my 'lost' books weren't even mine at the time - sometimes I would see something I really like at a bookstore and not be able to buy it. This is usually because I've already spent too much on books (or am low on funds!) or maybe I didn't think the book was worth buying at the time (I'm usually wrong on this). I quickly learned to formulate my own maxim when deciding whether or not I should buy a book: when in doubt, buy it. (Note that this only works on books).
The pain that a book lover feels for a lost book can only be understood by fellow bibliophiles. I've maybe lost, oh, 15 or 20 books in this way. That seems like a lot, but when you consider all the lost books of history, it seems miniscule.
Consider the title of this post. The Bonfire of the Vanities (not the book by Tom Wolfe or the movie adaptation), but the actual event. In 1494, after the overthrow of the Medici, Girolamo Savonarola (a Dominican priest), became the sole ruler of Florence. He then went about transforming Florence into a 'Christian and religious republic.' In 1497, he and his followers went around Florence to collect books, paintings, mirrors, dresses and other works associated with 'low morals'. This was the infamous Bonfire of the Vanities. Many irreplaceable books and works of art was lost in that fire long ago at the Piazza della Signoria.
Or the famous library at Alexandria. At its peak, there were approximately 400,000 - 700,000 scrolls, the largest in the Medterranean world at the time. How did it get so big? Part of the reason is that Ptolemy III required that all visitors to the city surrender all their books and scrolls - copies of these were made and given to their owners. The originals remained in the library. Now there's a bibliophile! It is also said that Aristotle's own private collection helped start the library. Its an obscure fact that only a small fraction of the works from the 'classical' period have come down to us - many of the plays and comedies exist only as fragments. Who knows what other treasures we would have if the library wasn't destroyed by fire, as some say? (Note that how the destruction took place is a matter of some debate).
All these lost books make mine miniscule in comparison, but it still doesn't take away the sting.
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on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 5:25 AM.
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