Donné par Maman

Another trouvaille from one of my old books.

Inscriptions like this, however, are not the only reason for my following the motto »Prefer books that are older than you«. Another aspect is that the more remote the times in which an author lived, the less annoying or even detrimental will today’s reader find motives from outside the book’s scope that may have swayed the author’s pen. The urge to shine perhaps, social ambitions, ideological and political aims, or simply concessions to the zeitgeist.

The odd thing is that quite often a very old tome – be it a satire, a novel, a philosophical tract or a historical narration – may not only be a much more enjoyable read than many current publications, but even allow a much clearer view of our own times.