Living substance conquers the frenzy of destruction only in the ecstasy of procreation.
Walter BenjaminRead
Books, too, begin like the week – with a day of rest in memory of their creation. The preface is their Sunday.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books are created with thoughtfulness, and their introductions reflect the importance of their content.
Walter Benjamin’s quote emphasizes the significance of the beginning of books, likening it to how the week starts with a day of rest. He suggests that just as Sunday serves as a reflective break in the week, a preface serves as a considerate introduction that honors the creative process behind the book.
Themes
BooksCreationPrefaceReflectionLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
During a book club meeting, I might say, 'As Walter Benjamin suggests, every book begins thoughtfully, which is why we should appreciate each preface.'
More from Walter Benjamin
All quotes →The illiterate of the future will not be the man who cannot read the alphabet, but the one who cannot take a photograph.
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If mythic violence is lawmaking, divine violence is law-destroying; if the former sets boundaries, the latter boundlessly destroys them; if mythic violence brings at once guilt and retribution, divine power only expiates; if the former threatens, the latter strikes; if the former is bloody, the latter is lethal without spilling blood
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Writers are really people who write books not because they are poor, but because they are dissatisfied with the books which they could buy but do not like.
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Nothing is poorer than a truth expressed as it was thought. Committed to writing in such cases, it is not even a bad photograph. Truth wants to be startled abruptly, at one stroke, from her self-immersion, whether by uproar, music or cries for help.
Walter BenjaminRead
I am unpacking my library. Yes I am. The books are not yet on the shelves, not yet touched by the mild boredom of order.
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Education without morals is like a ship without a compass, merely wandering nowhere.
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There is a whole industry in America of people who want to write, and those who teach it. Even if the students don't end up writing, what's good about them taking the courses is, they become great readers, learning to appreciate the writing.
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