Emily DickinsonA precious, mouldering pleasure ’t is To meet an antique book, In just the dress his century wore; A privilege, I think.
About This Quote
The "mouldering" part is not usually a problem. The problem is the "precious" part. What we call precious today was considered worthless centuries ago. The only way to experience such a feeling of preciousness is to begin reading old books, which can be quite a challenge.
When you find an old book that someone has preserved, it is hard to believe that the same book could have been read and enjoyed several hundred years ago. You might even think that it is worth more than any other book on the shelf because it was the first one ever read.
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