Gutenberg Articles

Appearance

Excerpt ​

Excerpt from The Love of Books: The Philobiblon of Richard de Bury, by Richard de Bury

OF THE GRADUAL PERFECTING OF BOOKS

While assiduously seeking out the wisdom of the men of old, according
to the counsel of the Wise Man (Eccles. xxxix.): The wise man, he
says, will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients, we have not thought
fit to be misled into the opinion that the first founders of the arts
have purged away all crudeness, knowing that the discoveries of each of
the faithful, when weighed in a faithful balance, makes a tiny portion
of science, but that by the anxious investigations of a multitude of
scholars, each as it were contributing his share, the mighty bodies of
the sciences have grown by successive augmentations to the immense bulk
that we now behold. For the disciples, continually melting down the
doctrines of their masters, and passing them again through the furnace,
drove off the dross that had been previously overlooked, until there
came out refined gold tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times
to perfection, and stained by no admixture of error or doubt.

For not even Aristotle, although a man of gigantic intellect, in whom
it pleased Nature to try how much of reason she could bestow upon
mortality, and whom the Most High made only a little lower than the
angels, sucked from his own fingers those wonderful volumes which the
whole world can hardly contain. But, on the contrary, with lynx-eyed
penetration he had seen through the sacred books of the Hebrews, the
Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Chaldaeans, the Persians and the Medes,
all of which learned Greece had transferred into her treasuries. Whose
true sayings he received, but smoothed away their crudities, pruned
their superfluities, supplied their deficiencies, and removed their
errors. And he held that we should give thanks not only to those who
teach rightly, but even to those who err, as affording the way of more
easily investigating truth, as he plainly declares in the second book
of his Metaphysics. Thus many learned lawyers contributed to the
Pandects, many physicians to the Tegni, and it was by this means that
Avicenna edited his Canon, and Pliny his great work on Natural History,
and Ptolemy the Almagest.

Explanation ​

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Love of Books: The Philobiblon by Richard de Bury ​

Context of the Work ​

The Philobiblon (The Love of Books), written in 1345 by Richard de Bury (1287–1345), a Benedictine monk, scholar, and Bishop of Durham, is a medieval treatise celebrating the virtues of books and learning. De Bury, an avid book collector, wrote this work as both a defense of scholarly pursuits and a guide to the proper care and acquisition of books. The text reflects the intellectual culture of the High Middle Ages, when universities were flourishing, and the recovery of ancient Greek, Roman, and Islamic texts was reshaping European thought.

This excerpt, "Of the Gradual Perfecting of Books," argues that knowledge is cumulative, built upon the contributions of many scholars across time, rather than the sole achievement of a few geniuses.

Themes in the Excerpt ​

  1. The Cumulative Nature of Knowledge

    • De Bury rejects the idea that the "first founders of the arts" (e.g., Aristotle, Plato, or other ancient authorities) perfected knowledge in their lifetime. Instead, he argues that truth is refined over generations through the collective labor of scholars.
    • He compares this process to metallurgy: just as gold is purified by repeated melting and refining, so too is knowledge purified by successive generations of thinkers who "melt down the doctrines of their masters" and remove errors.

  2. The Role of Error in the Pursuit of Truth

    • De Bury suggests that even mistakes contribute to intellectual progress. He cites Aristotle’s Metaphysics, where Aristotle acknowledges that erroneous ideas help clarify truth by providing contrast.
    • This reflects the medieval scholastic method, where debates (disputatio) between opposing views were used to arrive at deeper understanding.

  3. The Debt to Ancient and Foreign Wisdom

    • Aristotle, often considered the pinnacle of medieval scholarship, did not invent his ideas in isolation. De Bury emphasizes that Aristotle drew from Hebrew, Babylonian, Egyptian, Chaldean, Persian, and Median sources, which were later absorbed by Greek learning.
    • This highlights the cross-cultural transmission of knowledge—a key feature of medieval intellectual history, particularly through Islamic scholars (e.g., Avicenna) who preserved and expanded upon Greek and Persian texts.

  4. The Collaborative Nature of Great Works

    • De Bury lists major texts that were compiled by many hands:
      • The Pandects (a digest of Roman law, assembled by Byzantine jurists).
      • The Tegni (a medical compendium, likely referring to Galen’s works).
      • Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine (a foundational Islamic medical text).
      • Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (an encyclopedic Roman work).
      • Ptolemy’s Almagest (the definitive ancient astronomical treatise).
    • These examples reinforce the idea that no single author works in a vacuum; even the greatest works are built upon earlier traditions.

Literary Devices & Stylistic Features ​

  1. Metaphor of Metallurgy (Refining Gold)

    • De Bury uses an extended metaphor of gold refining to describe the purification of knowledge:
      • "Melting down the doctrines of their masters" → Scholars re-examine and reinterpret past ideas.
      • "Driving off the dross" → Removing errors and impurities.
      • "Refined gold tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" → A biblical allusion (Psalm 12:6, Proverbs 17:3) suggesting perfected truth through rigorous testing.
    • This metaphor reinforces the laborious, iterative process of scholarly progress.

  2. Classical & Biblical Allusions

    • Ecclesiastes 39:1 ("The wise man will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients") – Justifies the pursuit of old knowledge.
    • Aristotle’s Metaphysics – Used to support the idea that error aids truth.
    • Psalm 8:5 ("whom the Most High made only a little lower than the angels") – Elevates Aristotle to a near-divine intellectual status, while still acknowledging his dependence on earlier thinkers.

  3. Hyperbole & Reverence for Aristotle

    • De Bury exalts Aristotle with grandiose language:
      • "A man of gigantic intellect"
      • "In whom it pleased Nature to try how much of reason she could bestow upon mortality"
    • Yet, he qualifies this praise by showing that even Aristotle relied on others, preventing the reader from assuming any single thinker is infallible.

  4. Parallel Structure & Enumeration

    • The listing of civilizations (Hebrews, Babylonians, Egyptians, etc.) and great works (Pandects, Tegni, Canon, etc.) creates a rhythmic, accumulative effect, reinforcing the idea of collective intellectual heritage.

Significance of the Passage ​

  1. Medieval Scholasticism & the Recovery of Ancient Texts

    • De Bury’s argument reflects the 12th–14th century Renaissance, when European scholars rediscovered Aristotle (via Islamic commentators like Averroes and Avicenna) and integrated his works into Christian thought.
    • The passage challenges intellectual arrogance, reminding readers that even the greatest minds (like Aristotle) stand on the shoulders of giants.

  2. A Defense of Bookish Learning

    • As a book collector and bibliophile, de Bury is making a case for the value of preserving and studying old texts. His work was partly a response to critics who saw excessive bookishness as a distraction from spiritual life.
    • The metaphor of refining gold suggests that books are not just containers of knowledge but instruments of truth.

  3. A Proto-Enlightenment Idea of Progress

    • While the Enlightenment (centuries later) would fully develop the idea of intellectual progress, de Bury’s argument anticipates it by suggesting that knowledge improves over time through collaboration and critique.
    • Unlike later thinkers, however, he still reveres ancient authority (Aristotle, Pliny, etc.) rather than rejecting tradition entirely.

  4. A Model for Modern Academia

    • The passage resonates with modern scholarly practices:
      • Peer review (scholars refining each other’s work).
      • Interdisciplinary study (drawing from multiple cultures and fields).
      • The idea that science and philosophy are cumulative, not the work of lone geniuses.

Key Takeaways from the Text Itself ​

  • Knowledge is not static—it evolves through debate, correction, and synthesis.
  • Great thinkers are indebted to their predecessors, no matter how original they seem.
  • Error is not useless—it helps sharpen truth.
  • Books are not just objects but living traditions, refined by each generation.

De Bury’s passage is both a humble acknowledgment of intellectual debt and a celebration of the collaborative, ever-improving nature of human knowledge—a message that remains relevant in the digital age of information overload.