The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
If people buy my books for vanity, I consider it a tax on idiocy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques superficial motivations for purchasing literature, suggesting a disdain for vanity-driven choices.
Umberto Eco expresses his belief that when individuals purchase his books for reasons rooted in vanity rather than for genuine appreciation of the content, it reflects poorly on their judgment. He views these purchases as a 'tax on idiocy,' implying that valuing appearances over substance is a misguided approach to literature and life.
Themes
VanityLiteratureJudgmentSubstanceWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of genuine understanding in education.
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
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But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
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You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
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"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
Umberto EcoRead
The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
Umberto EcoRead
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