Status Updates From The Grammar of Angels: A Se...

In a magisterial dismissal of the printing press, Poliziano lamented in his Miscellanies that by means of a new device, turning even the stupidest opinions into a thousand books is the work of a mere moment.

In some senses, thought, Pico was perfectly primed to understand the message of kabbalah, which drew upon the wonder felt by the reader at the ability of language and writing to be transmitted across vast ages and distances and then to be unlocked and once again release their ancient power.

As Socrates had feared, those encountering written texts rather than a person who could be interrupted and interrogated were quickly reduced to passive players in the making of thought.

Within those circles dedicated to ancient learning known as the humanists there was no greater act of love than to lay open your library catalogue to another, mingling your collections and sharing your most sacred volumes.