The product of paper and printed ink, that we commonly call the book, is one of the great visible mediators between spirit and time, and, reflecting zeitgeist, lasts as long as ore and stone.
Interpretation
Books are powerful tools that connect the spirit of the times with enduring knowledge.
In this quote, Johann Georg Hamann emphasizes the profound role that books play in bridging the gap between human consciousness and the progression of time. He suggests that books not only embody the spirit of their era but also possess a lasting significance that transcends the physical materials they are made from, showcasing their importance in our intellectual and cultural journeys.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy, one could reference this quote to highlight how books shape our understanding of the world.
Being, belief and reason are pure relations, which cannot be dealt with absolutely, and are not things but pure scholastic concepts, signs for understanding, not for worshipping, aids to awaken our attention, not to fetter it.
The weakness of ourselves and of our reason makes us see flaws in beauties by making us consider everything piece by piece.
Nature is a book, a letter, a fairy tale (in the philosophical sense) or whatever you want to call it.
Every phenomenon of nature was a word, - the sign, symbol and pledge of a new, mysterious, inexpressible but all the more intimate union, participation and community of divine energies and ideas.
Everything is vain and tortures the spirit instead of calming and satisfying it.
Not only the entire ability to think rests on language... but language is also the crux of the misunderstanding of reason with itself.
Better guide the young than reclaim them when old For the voice of true wisdom is calling "To rescue the fallen is good, but tis best To prevent other people from falling" Better close up the source of temptation and crime Than deliver from dungeon or gallery Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.
My early childhood prepared me to be a social psychologist. I grew up in a South Bronx ghetto in a very poor family. From Sicilian origin, I was the first person in my family to complete high school, let alone go to college.
Today we read books 'extensively,' often without sustained focus, and with rare exceptions we read each book only once. We value quantity of reading over quality of reading. We have no choice, if we want to keep up with the broader culture.
Misbehavior and punishment are not opposites that cancel each other - on the contrary they breed and reinforce each other.
Let's face it. No kid in high school feels as though they fit in.
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