Rare Books

'Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity'. -Hermann Hesse
The comments below this quote on a writing page I belong to said it was racist, I cannot  see how given it covers oral history and the many ways people pass on their lineage through either the written or spoken word.

It reminded me of a visit I made in 2007 to the Edinburgh University library rare books room. Months earlier I had read a book called 'Out of the Flames'. It was the story of a medieval Spanish humanist , doctor and theologian, Michael Servetus. He had penned a heretical work of biblical scholarship called the 'Christianismi Restitutio' in an attempt to refute the orthodox Christianity of the protestant reformer John Calvin. Servetus was tried for heresy in Geneva at the behest of Calvin and was burnt at the stake on a pyre of his own books.

I had talked my way into the library showing them a just expired student card for the university I had recently graduated from in New Zealand. A student of philosophy, I really wanted to see this book in its glass cage. It was with much surprise  I was taken to the rare books room and after a short wait handed their copy of the book, one of only three left in the world. I was even more surprised to discover that I was holding John Calvin's copy, the one he used to try and execute Servetus.

Although the books was written in Latin I turned each page carefully and absorbed every detail. Using my travel notebooks I made notes about damage to the book, copied Calvin's annotations and savoured every second with this precious and rare volume. Several of the corners had been burnt, did Calvin flung his copy into the fire and then have second thoughts and rescue it? Could Calvin ever have imagined that a bibliophile from a far away as yet undiscovered country would be so fascinated by the story of Servetus she would dream of seeing his book.

I spent almost an hour with the book, turned every page, and eventually realising there was little more I could do reluctantly returned the book to its box and handed it back to the librarian.

This is both a travel and book related memory, without these words written down with such care and thought and the kindness of other book lovers in Scotland this avid reader would never had had such a wonderful experience.