The great inconvenience of new books is that they prevent us from reading the old ones.

[C’est le grand inconvénient des livres nouveaux: ils nous empêchent de lire les anciens.]

Joubert - The great inconvenience of new books is that they prevent us from reading the old ones - wist.info quote

Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées [Thoughts], ch. 18 “Du Siècle [On the Age],” ¶ 57 (1850 ed.) [tr. Auster (1983), 1808]
    (Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The great drawback in new books is that they prevent our reading older ones.
[tr. Attwell (1896), ¶ 250]

That is the great drawback of new books: they keep us from reading the old.
[tr. Collins (1928), ch. 17]


 
Added on 4-Nov-13 | Last updated 9-Oct-23
Link to this post | 1 comment
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Joubert, Joseph

1 thought on “<i>Pensées [Thoughts]</i>, ch. 18 <i>“Du Siècle</i> [On the Age],” ¶ 57 (1850 ed.) [tr. Auster (1983), 1808]”

  1. Pingback: The problem with new books | ***Dave Does the Blog

Thoughts? Comments? Corrections? Feedback?