IN THE DOMED READING ROOM
IN THE DOMED READING ROOM
In 1888, my grandfather, Martin Bottoms , came to Melbourne from Eaglehawk to begin his career in the Public Service. He was 17 years of age and he boarded in Carlton. In his Reminiscences, he tells of his visits to the Public Library.
He became so interested in the works of Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith that he used to go after tea of an evening to the Public Library and look up the magazines in which Johnson and Goldsmith were published, magazines like The Idler, The Tatler and The Gentleman’s Magazine. He recalled
“I seemed to feel that I was living in the times of these writers. Many a time I was so engrossed in reading these old magazines that I would be startled by the Library bell and the peremptory call, ‘All out! All out!’
At the same time, some of the old men who were sleeping in the alcoves they had in there would be forced to go out in the streets. I should mention that at the entrance of one of the corridors there was a small marble image of Shakespeare leaning over a table, containing an extract from "The Tempest.” I did not possess a copy of Shakespeare’s plays, but I was so struck by the words on the tablet that I copied them in the little book note-book that I used for noting quotations. Here is the quotation
The cloud-capped towers
The gorgeous palaces
The solemn temples
The great globe itself
Yea, all which it inherit,
Shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.”
In the renewed Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria there are a number of statements about reading that have been engraved on stone above the shelves. These statements run around the whole circumference of the Room. Here they are:
NO PLACE CAN BE CHOSEN MORE LIKELY TO AROUSE AND EXALT SUCH FEELINGS THAN THIS APARTMENT, REARED IN HONOR OF LITERATURE
REDMOND BARRY
LIBRARIES ARE RESERVOIRS OF STRENGTH, GRACE AND WIT, REMINDERS OF ORDER, CALM AND CONTINUITY, LAKES OF MENTAL ENERGY
GERMAINE GREER
BOOKS ARE THE TREASURED WEALTH OF THE WORLD AND THE INHERITANCE OF GENERATIONS AND NATIONS
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
THE CHIEF GLORY OF EVERY NATION ARISES FROM ITS AUTHORS
SAMUEL JOHNSON
A PUBLIC LIBRARY IS THE MOST DEMOCRATIC THING IN THE WORLD
DORIS LESSING
NO TWO PEOPLE READ THE SAME BOOK
EDMUND WILSON
THE TRUE UNIVERSITY OF THESE DAYS IS A COLLECTION OF BOOKS
THOMAS CARYLE
WIDE AND INDEPENDENT READING…SELF-EDUCATION IS WHAT MATTERS
PATRICK WHITE
THE READING OF ALL GOOD BOOKS IS LIKE A CONVERSATION WITH THE FINEST MEN OF PAST CENTURIES
RENE DESCARTES
THE WORD IS THE MAKING OF THE WORLD
WALLACE STEVENS
YOU CAN MAKE INITIAL CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE WITH SIGNS OR SMILES, BUT TO COMMUNICATE YOU NEED WORDS. SO IT IS WITH A NATION; TO UNDERSTAND IT YOU HAVE TO READ BOOKS
GEOFFREY DUTTON
A PERSON CANNOT CONTRIBUTE TO HUMANITY WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE…ONLY A PERSON WITH A FREE SOUL, A PERSON WHO HAS NO USE FOR FEAR, CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLS’S BETTERMENT
PRAMEEDYA ANANTATOER
NOBODY HAS THE LAST WORD
BRENDA WALKER
STORIES ARE THE WAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL YOU BELONG
BOORI MONTY PRYOR
THE DOME AND ITS ASCENDING GALLERIES SEEMED LIKE A GIANT BRAIN VAULTING TOARDS THE HEAVENS
ARNOLD ZABLE
BOOKS, THE CHILDREN OF THE BRAIN
JONATHAN SWIFT
ONE READS IN ORDER TO ASK QUESTIONS
FRANZ KAFKA
BOOKS ARE THE THREADS FROM WHICH THE FABRIC OF
OUR CULURE AND CIVILIZAION ARE WOVEN
RICHARD CLEMENT
A STUDY LAMP, A DESK MAKE TWO OLD FRIENDS…
REJOICE – THE ANCIENT SPIRIRT THRIVES AGAIN. FOR THOSE WHO READ A WORD OR TWO THERE’S HOPE
NGUYEN TRAI
THE STUDIOUS SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY…TRANQUIL BRIGHTNESS
JAMES JOYCE
TO SLIDE INTO THE DOMED READING ROOM AT TEN EACH MORNING SPECIALLY IN SUMMER OFF THE HOT STREET OUTSIDE WAS A SENSATION AS DELICIOUS AS DROPPING INTO THE WATER OFF THE CONCRETE EDGE OF THE FIZROY BATHS
HELEN GARNER
BUT WORDS ARE THINGS AND A SMALL DROP OF INK FALLING LIKE DEW UPON A THOUGHT PRODUCES THAT WHICH MAKES THOUSANDS, PERHAPS MILLIONS, THINK
LORD BYRON
COME AND TAKE CHOICE OF ALL MY LIBRARY AND SO BEGUILE THY SORROW
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
BOOKS ARE THE PLANE, AND THE TRAIN, AND THE ROAD. THEY ARE DESTINATION, AND THE JOURNEY
ANNA QUINDLEN
LET’S SAVE OLD BOOKS AND STUDY THEM WITH CARE
PHUNG KHAC KHOAN
READ IN ORDER TO LIVE
GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
WORDS ON THE PAGE ARE NEVER PRISONERS OF THE PAGE
SONYA HARTNETT
WRITERS SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO ARE KEPT IN SILENCE ISABEL ALLENDE
A REAL BOOK IS NOT ONE THAT’S READ BUT ONE THAT READS US
W.H.AUDEN
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PRIVILEGED TO READ WHAT THEY LIKE
DOROTHY GREEN
BOOKS CAN WARM THE HEART WITH FRIENDLY WORDS AND COUNSEL, ENTERING INTO A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH US WHICH IS ARTICULATE ANE ALIVE
FRANCESCO PETRARCH
ONE MUST BE AN INVENTOR TO READ WELL
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
THE PUBLIC LIBRRY IS AT ONCE THE PRODUCT OF DEMOCRACY AND A SIGN OF FAITH IN UNIVERSAL EDUCATION AS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS
IRVING BENSON
DREAMS, BOOKS, ARE EACH A WORLD; AND BOOKS, WE KNOW, ARE A SUBSTANTIAL WORLD, BOTH PURE AND GOOD
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I, WHO HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT OF PARADISE IN FORM AND IMAGE AS A LIBRARY
JORGE LUIS BORGES
THERE IS NO FRIGATE LIKE A BOOK TO TAKE US LANDS AWAY, NOR ANY COURSERS LIKE A PAGE OF PRANCING POETRY
EMILY DICKINSON
In 1888, my grandfather, Martin Bottoms , came to Melbourne from Eaglehawk to begin his career in the Public Service. He was 17 years of age and he boarded in Carlton. In his Reminiscences, he tells of his visits to the Public Library.
He became so interested in the works of Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith that he used to go after tea of an evening to the Public Library and look up the magazines in which Johnson and Goldsmith were published, magazines like The Idler, The Tatler and The Gentleman’s Magazine. He recalled
“I seemed to feel that I was living in the times of these writers. Many a time I was so engrossed in reading these old magazines that I would be startled by the Library bell and the peremptory call, ‘All out! All out!’
At the same time, some of the old men who were sleeping in the alcoves they had in there would be forced to go out in the streets. I should mention that at the entrance of one of the corridors there was a small marble image of Shakespeare leaning over a table, containing an extract from "The Tempest.” I did not possess a copy of Shakespeare’s plays, but I was so struck by the words on the tablet that I copied them in the little book note-book that I used for noting quotations. Here is the quotation
The cloud-capped towers
The gorgeous palaces
The solemn temples
The great globe itself
Yea, all which it inherit,
Shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.”
In the renewed Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria there are a number of statements about reading that have been engraved on stone above the shelves. These statements run around the whole circumference of the Room. Here they are:
NO PLACE CAN BE CHOSEN MORE LIKELY TO AROUSE AND EXALT SUCH FEELINGS THAN THIS APARTMENT, REARED IN HONOR OF LITERATURE
REDMOND BARRY
LIBRARIES ARE RESERVOIRS OF STRENGTH, GRACE AND WIT, REMINDERS OF ORDER, CALM AND CONTINUITY, LAKES OF MENTAL ENERGY
GERMAINE GREER
BOOKS ARE THE TREASURED WEALTH OF THE WORLD AND THE INHERITANCE OF GENERATIONS AND NATIONS
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
THE CHIEF GLORY OF EVERY NATION ARISES FROM ITS AUTHORS
SAMUEL JOHNSON
A PUBLIC LIBRARY IS THE MOST DEMOCRATIC THING IN THE WORLD
DORIS LESSING
NO TWO PEOPLE READ THE SAME BOOK
EDMUND WILSON
THE TRUE UNIVERSITY OF THESE DAYS IS A COLLECTION OF BOOKS
THOMAS CARYLE
WIDE AND INDEPENDENT READING…SELF-EDUCATION IS WHAT MATTERS
PATRICK WHITE
THE READING OF ALL GOOD BOOKS IS LIKE A CONVERSATION WITH THE FINEST MEN OF PAST CENTURIES
RENE DESCARTES
THE WORD IS THE MAKING OF THE WORLD
WALLACE STEVENS
YOU CAN MAKE INITIAL CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE WITH SIGNS OR SMILES, BUT TO COMMUNICATE YOU NEED WORDS. SO IT IS WITH A NATION; TO UNDERSTAND IT YOU HAVE TO READ BOOKS
GEOFFREY DUTTON
A PERSON CANNOT CONTRIBUTE TO HUMANITY WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE…ONLY A PERSON WITH A FREE SOUL, A PERSON WHO HAS NO USE FOR FEAR, CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLS’S BETTERMENT
PRAMEEDYA ANANTATOER
NOBODY HAS THE LAST WORD
BRENDA WALKER
STORIES ARE THE WAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL YOU BELONG
BOORI MONTY PRYOR
THE DOME AND ITS ASCENDING GALLERIES SEEMED LIKE A GIANT BRAIN VAULTING TOARDS THE HEAVENS
ARNOLD ZABLE
BOOKS, THE CHILDREN OF THE BRAIN
JONATHAN SWIFT
ONE READS IN ORDER TO ASK QUESTIONS
FRANZ KAFKA
BOOKS ARE THE THREADS FROM WHICH THE FABRIC OF
OUR CULURE AND CIVILIZAION ARE WOVEN
RICHARD CLEMENT
A STUDY LAMP, A DESK MAKE TWO OLD FRIENDS…
REJOICE – THE ANCIENT SPIRIRT THRIVES AGAIN. FOR THOSE WHO READ A WORD OR TWO THERE’S HOPE
NGUYEN TRAI
THE STUDIOUS SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY…TRANQUIL BRIGHTNESS
JAMES JOYCE
TO SLIDE INTO THE DOMED READING ROOM AT TEN EACH MORNING SPECIALLY IN SUMMER OFF THE HOT STREET OUTSIDE WAS A SENSATION AS DELICIOUS AS DROPPING INTO THE WATER OFF THE CONCRETE EDGE OF THE FIZROY BATHS
HELEN GARNER
BUT WORDS ARE THINGS AND A SMALL DROP OF INK FALLING LIKE DEW UPON A THOUGHT PRODUCES THAT WHICH MAKES THOUSANDS, PERHAPS MILLIONS, THINK
LORD BYRON
COME AND TAKE CHOICE OF ALL MY LIBRARY AND SO BEGUILE THY SORROW
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
BOOKS ARE THE PLANE, AND THE TRAIN, AND THE ROAD. THEY ARE DESTINATION, AND THE JOURNEY
ANNA QUINDLEN
LET’S SAVE OLD BOOKS AND STUDY THEM WITH CARE
PHUNG KHAC KHOAN
READ IN ORDER TO LIVE
GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
WORDS ON THE PAGE ARE NEVER PRISONERS OF THE PAGE
SONYA HARTNETT
WRITERS SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO ARE KEPT IN SILENCE ISABEL ALLENDE
A REAL BOOK IS NOT ONE THAT’S READ BUT ONE THAT READS US
W.H.AUDEN
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PRIVILEGED TO READ WHAT THEY LIKE
DOROTHY GREEN
BOOKS CAN WARM THE HEART WITH FRIENDLY WORDS AND COUNSEL, ENTERING INTO A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH US WHICH IS ARTICULATE ANE ALIVE
FRANCESCO PETRARCH
ONE MUST BE AN INVENTOR TO READ WELL
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
THE PUBLIC LIBRRY IS AT ONCE THE PRODUCT OF DEMOCRACY AND A SIGN OF FAITH IN UNIVERSAL EDUCATION AS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS
IRVING BENSON
DREAMS, BOOKS, ARE EACH A WORLD; AND BOOKS, WE KNOW, ARE A SUBSTANTIAL WORLD, BOTH PURE AND GOOD
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I, WHO HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT OF PARADISE IN FORM AND IMAGE AS A LIBRARY
JORGE LUIS BORGES
THERE IS NO FRIGATE LIKE A BOOK TO TAKE US LANDS AWAY, NOR ANY COURSERS LIKE A PAGE OF PRANCING POETRY
EMILY DICKINSON
posted by ledingham at 11:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home