The Library of Babel Religion Quotes Page 1
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| Quote #1 (Mystics claim that their ecstasies reveal to them a circular book with a continuous spine that goes completely around the walls. But their testimony is suspect, their words obscure. That cyclical book is God.) (2) |
We love how this story provides tiny little snapshots of the philosophy of lots of different religions. Exhibit A: mysticism. The mystics seek truth through really intense personal experiences called ecstasies, and then have a hard time explaining their visions to other people.
| Quote #2 Man, the imperfect librarian, may be the work of chance or of malevolent demiurges; the universe, with its elegant appointments – its bookshelves, its enigmatic books, its indefatigable staircases for the traveler, and its water closets for the seated librarian – can only be the handiwork of a god. (4) |
The narrator's approach to religion is much more abstract and intellectual than that of the mystics. The world is so perfect, he argues, that there's no way a human being could have designed it. It's so logical!
| Quote #3 There are official searchers, the "inquisitors"...once in a while, they take up the nearest book and leaf through it, searching for disgraceful or dishonorable words. Clearly, no one expects to discover anything. (9) |
Whoa there... an Inquisition? (How unexpected!) Borges is taking another chapter from our religious history and squeezing it into his story. It's like he's saying: "Hey, people are the same in every universe. They do crazy stuff."
