Order in the Library: An Important Point about Discarding Books

Once more we give you a post from Roger Nicole’s essays “The Spiritual Dimension of the Librarian’s Task”, a series of speeches this Reformed theologian gave for the Association of Christian Librarians on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 1981. And for the last time I reference his second speech where he is defining the librarian as “a model of orderliness”. As he talks about the importance of discarding useless materials in a library, he issues a serious warning and uses a powerful example to prove his point. I found this quite interesting, and I believe you will too.

One quality that is necessary for order is the ability to discard what is useless or obsolete. If there is a lack of ability to discard, then inevitably a clutter develops, and what is contained in a clutter…, is as good as lost (Does Nicole realize how hard it is to throw out books?! -cjt).

It is true, of course, that librarians have at times made serious mistakes in discarding. I’m thinking, for instance, of the way in which in 1806 some unique manuscript volumes of Calvin’s sermons were sold by weight. In the days of Calvin the city of Geneva had made arrangements with a French refugee called Denis Raguenier, who had developed a kind of shorthand, and he was recording word for word the sermons of Calvin as he preached them, and then during the week or later on in the day (because Calvin was often preaching in the morning – sometimes every morning of the week as well as twice on Sunday) he would transcribe this and then turn it over to the city of Geneva. In this way there were forty-four large manuscript volumes containing sermons of Calvin that were not published, that are not found anywhere. Well, those forty-four volumes were large folio volumes and the librarian of Geneva was confronted with a kind of exigency, which perhaps has also affected you from time to time. He found he had more books than he had shelf space and so he realized that somehow he had to make a discard. So at some fateful moment in 1806 the custodians of Geneva city library decided to discard the sermons of Calvin for waste paper and so all but one volume was removed. Later on some of these volumes were saved from the ignoble fate of being used for scrap and were returned to the Library of Geneva, but thrity-one volumes were apparently lost forever. This incident, I would say, shows a certain lack of good judgment in discarding (To say the least! -cjt). At present the library of Geneva would pay its weight in gold, high as gold might be, for any of the volumes that were discarded at that time.

So we need to discard, but we also need wisdom in discarding (p.111).

Indeed, we do. And I hope I (or any of those who follow) NEVER make that mistake!

“Diabolical Ventriloquism”: A 1-Sentence Summary of Each of Screwtape’s Letters – Andy Naselli

Diabolical Ventriloquism: A 1-Sentence Summary of Each of Screwtape’s Letters | Andy Naselli.

On his blog last week Andy Naselli (“Thoughts on Theology”) posted these one-sentence summaries of each of of Screwtape’s letters as found in C.S.Lewis’ classic work. When you read through these again (and I hope you have read – and re-read – this classic!), you will realize how relevant they are. The devil’s ways are subtle, but they are not always so new and sophisticated. May we continue to learn how to combat him with the Word of our Lion (I Pet.5:8; Rev.5:5) and prayer (Eph.6:10ff.).

Here is Naselli’s introduction and first five summaries.

In The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis masterfully “teaches in reverse” by wryly using demonic points of view to enforce a biblical one. He calls it “diabolical ventriloquism.” Here is a one-sentence summary of each of Screwtape’s thirty-one letters that advise Wormwood how to tempt his “patient” (who becomes a Christian between letters one and two):

1. Make him preoccupied with ordinary, “real” life—not arguments or science.
2. Make him disillusioned with the church by highlighting people he self-righteously thinks are strange or hypocritical.
3. Annoy him with “daily pinpricks” from his mother.
4. Keep him from seriously intending to pray at all, and if that fails, subtly misdirect his focus to himself or an object rather than a Person
5. Don’t hope for too much from a war [in this case, World War II] because the Enemy often lets our patients suffer to fortify them and tantalize us.