My Belief: Essays on Life and Art. Hermann Hesse

With all peoples the word and writing are holy and magical; naming and writing were originally magical operations, magical conquests of nature through the spirit, and everywhere the gift of writing was thought to be of divine origin. With most peoples, writing and reading were secret and holy arts reserved for the priesthood alone.

[…]

Today all this is apparently completely changed. Today, so it seems, the world of writing and of the intellect is open to everyone… Today, so it seems, being able to read and write is little more than being able to breathe… Writing and the book have apparently been divested of every special dignity, every enchantment, every magic… From a liberal, democratic point of view, this is progress and is accepted as a matter of course; from other points of view, however, it is a devaluation and vulgarization of the spirit.

My Belief: Essays on Life and Art. Hermann Hesse

Entre los muchos mundos que el hombre no ha recibido como regalo de la naturaleza, sino mas bien de los que ha creado desde sí mismo, el mundo de los libros es el más grandioso... Sin la palabra, sin los libros, no hay historia, no habría concepto de humanidad. Y si alguien quisiera tratar de acomodar en un espacio pequeño, en una casa o en una habitación, la historia del espíritu humano y hacerlo suyo, sólo podría hacerlo en la forma de una colección de libros.

El Arco y la Lira. Octavio Paz

Los grandes libros —quiero decir— los libros necesarios son aquellos que logran responder a las preguntas que, oscuramente y sin formularlas del todo, se hace el resto de los hombres.