There can hardly be stranger wares in the world than books: printed by people who do not understand them; sold by people who do not understand them; bound, reviewed and read by people who do not understand them; and now even written by people who do not understand them.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Books are produced and consumed by people who lack true understanding of them.
- In plain terms
- Books are made and read by people who don't understand them.
- What can you take from it?
- There is often a gap in understanding around books.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How often do you truly understand what you read?
Another view
Many readers and writers do engage deeply with texts.
More from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
There are people that can believe everything they want. These are happy creatures.
Permalink to quote #156 There is a great difference between still believing something and again believing it.
Permalink to quote #158 Theologians always try to turn the Bible into a book without common sense.
Permalink to quote #155
Related quotes
Get stewed: Books are a load of crap.
Philip LarkinPhilip Larkin quote #1 Well, Aimee Semple McPherson has written a book. And were you to call it a little peach, you would not be so much as scratching its surface. It is the story of…
Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker quote #4 Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry.
Umberto EcoUmberto Eco quote #5