16 thoughts on “What an astonishing thing a book is…”
Sensual Delight
How differently do mental pleasures
Lead us from book to book to roam
And ever, with these ancient treasures,
How cheerful winter nights become!
A happy life grows warm in every limb;
And if a precious parchment you unroll,
Your senses in delight appear to swim
And heaven itself descends upon your sould.
An extract from Gerald Donaldson’s anthology ‘Books’ published in 1981.
Thank you – I hadn’t seen that version befoe.
It’s a wonderful collection of quotes and short texts and illustrations about books, their history, art, power, glory, infamy and suffering according to their creators, friends and enemies! Full of lovely snippets and often horrifying facts. 🙂 I love dipping and out of it.
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog, its too dark to read”
— Groucho Marx 🙂
I so enjoy your blog I’ve nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award (which you may already have). If you want to pick it up, go to my blog post Unexpected Honour (Parts I and II). Thanks for the pleasure you give.
Cat
MoonLightened Way 
Sensual Delight
How differently do mental pleasures
Lead us from book to book to roam
And ever, with these ancient treasures,
How cheerful winter nights become!
A happy life grows warm in every limb;
And if a precious parchment you unroll,
Your senses in delight appear to swim
And heaven itself descends upon your sould.
– J.W. Goethe (1749-1832)
Oh Claire, I love that you shared this. No one loves books like a writer, eh? Thank you SO much!
Likewise, your share was such a delight I wanted to find someone equally adoring. 🙂
Oops ‘soul’
Whose translation, please?
An extract from Gerald Donaldson’s anthology ‘Books’ published in 1981.
Thank you – I hadn’t seen that version befoe.
It’s a wonderful collection of quotes and short texts and illustrations about books, their history, art, power, glory, infamy and suffering according to their creators, friends and enemies! Full of lovely snippets and often horrifying facts. 🙂 I love dipping and out of it.
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog, its too dark to read”
— Groucho Marx 🙂
Lol! What a wonderful quote. I’m so glad you posted it! Thank you!
post brought great smile to me!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Linda. It did for me as well.
I so enjoy your blog I’ve nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award (which you may already have). If you want to pick it up, go to my blog post Unexpected Honour (Parts I and II). Thanks for the pleasure you give.
Cat
Thanks so much, Cat!
Thank you for sharing this Jean. I love the Sagan quote and the Goethe one too. I have added them to my store of quotations.
Wonderful! I love reading and sharing things like this. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Judith. It’s always appreciated!