Chapter 28 breath of books (1)

Have you ever stepped out of the smoky air of a city into the fragrant and elegant atmosphere of a library?If you've ever done this, you'll know how grateful the change is, and you'll naturally agree with me that nothing else is so quiet to the nerves and so healthy to the body. Beneficial, to restore the lively current of the spirit so quickly. Koizumi Yakumo [Koizumi Yakumo, also known as Lafcadio Heine (1850-1904), Irish-Japanese writer, known for his exotic stories and novels. ] once wrote a monograph on fragrance, which is an original academic achievement.He paid for it out of his own pocket and printed it in a limited edition of fifty - making it an extremely rare book.But it's strange that the author didn't mention the smell of the book in this book.I think this is a most inexcusable mistake, unless he really thinks that the subject deserves to be dealt with in another paper, and thus postpones its consideration and treatment until he can devote himself to giving it the necessary study and attention.

We can find it in William Blaze [Blaze (1824-1890), British bibliographic philologist and print historian.Author of "The Enemy of Books" and other books. ] to find the discussion about the breath of the book in the authoritative work.On this issue, though, one doesn't necessarily need an expert.If anyone doubts this, as long as he opens the door of the bookcase at any time, he will have to be convinced, and the smell that comes out of his nostrils will undoubtedly prove to him that books are indeed inhaling air and exhaling fragrance. It is not uncommon for visitors to the British Museum to complain of the unbearable stuffiness of the place.The well-known "British Museum headache" has been recognized by medical colleagues in London as a special disease, caused by the lack of oxygen in the air.This environment is caused by too many books.Because of the special way books breathe, each book consumes thousands of cubic feet of air every twenty-four hours.

For a long time, Professor Huxley wondered why the air in the British Museum is poisonous, while other libraries are not.A series of experiments convinced him that the presence of airborne poisons was due to the number of blasphemous books in museums.He suggested that these gas-making books must be filled with a bath every six months. 】Pine juice is processed once.As far as I know, it's a cedar sap solution.He said that this thing can temporarily remove the evil tendencies and abilities in those harmful tomes. I don't know if the cure worked, but I remember reading in Pliny that the pine juice was used by the ancients to protect their manuscripts from decay.When Gnaeus Terentius went to dig in his manor on Mount Garniculum, he came across a safe containing not only the body of Numa, the old Roman king, but also the famous book compiled by Numa. Law manuscripts.After hundreds of years of burial in these conditions, you can probably imagine what His Majesty looked like, but the manuscripts are as good as new, which is said to be because they were wiped with citrus leaves before burial.

These so-called Books of Numa might have survived to this day were it not for the fanaticism of those who unearthed and read them.But they were quickly burned by the consul Quintus Petilius because (as Cassius Hermina explained) they spoke of philosophical topics, or because (as Livy demonstrated ) The theory they expressed was very unfavorable to the rulers of the time. As I have never had much to do with blasphemous writings, I am ignorant of the toxicity of such books (for which Professor Huxley has prescribed an antidote).Of the books which I have gathered about and made my constant companions, I can honestly tell you that you will not find a more pleasant scent.I wandered among them, touching one and then the other, greeting them all with affectionate approval.I fantasized that I was walking in a majestic and gorgeous garden, and my eyes were full of charming and charming scenery. In the flower beds, gorgeous flowers bloomed in the wind, which made me fascinated, like a dream.Indeed, there is no other smell as pleasant as that of my books.

There is my garden in a quiet and pleasant corner, The intoxicating fragrance is everywhere; The breath of my old books is mellow and sweet, Their position is facing away from the high wall. The folio is dignified by age, Green and yellow with spots of mildew; The breath of the sea emanates from every page, Reminiscent of the cargo hold of a sealed ship. This collection comes from the beauties and ladies of France, Faintly exudes a faint fragrance, Its scent is mingled with lilies and narcissus, The gardens are singing with flowers blooming. Here is a book with a very small opening,

With Puritan grace and roughness, Clearly imprinted with the holly taste of the Yankees, Or, there might be mints. By the chattering brook of Walton, The beaming daisy grows; And in the green woodlands and pastures, There are buttercups and roses stationed. But the most beloved book, I think the ones that make you feel divine, When the ashes of the years are sprinkled on the yellowed paper, The middle of the pages for easy flipping. Laughter here and tears there, until the treasury of the scroll is taken; These ashes of the years that fall between the pages, Tell us about the long death.

When we read the lines again, The friendly face is still the same as before, Those cherished fragrances, distant times, It fills people's hearts. Come, follow me to the solitude of the garden, pick up the fragrance of the blooming flowers;