--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A few more years of the same, though, and…" description: "\"“A few more years of the same, though, and I got used to it: I would load entire libraries from country castles and city mansions, fine, rare, leather-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg" --- # A few more years of the same, though, and I got used to… ![“A few more years of the same, though, and I got used to it: I would load entire libraries from country castles and city mansions, fine, rare, leather- and Morroco-bound books, load whole trains full, and as soon as a train had thirty cars, off it would go to Switzerland or Austria, one kilogram of…” quote by Bohumil Hrabal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg) > ““A few more years of the same, though, and I got used to it: I would load entire libraries from country castles and city mansions, fine, rare, leather- and Morroco-bound books, load whole trains full, and as soon as a train had thirty cars, off it would go to Switzerland or Austria, one kilogram of rare books for the equivalent of one crown of convertible currency, and nobody blinked an eye, nobody shed a tear, not even I myself, no, all I did was stand there smiling as I watched the train hauling those priceless libraries off to Switzerland and Austria for one crown in convertible currency a kilo. By then I had mustered the strength to look upon misfortune with composure, to still my emotions, by then I had begun to understand the beauty of destruction and I loaded more and more freight cars, and more and more trains left the station heading west at one crown per kilogram, and as I stood there staring after the red lantern hanging from the last car, as I stood there leaning on a lamppost like Leonardo da Vinci, who stood leaning on a column and looking on while French soldiers used his statue for target practice, shooting away horse and rider bit by bit, I thought how Leonardo, like me, standing and witnessing such horrors with complete composure, had realized even than that neither the heavens are humane nor is any man with a head on his shoulders.”” [Bohumil Hrabal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bohumil-hrabal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on profiting from moving priceless books, observing the cold efficiency of war‑time trade and the desensitization to loss. **In simple terms:** He watches valuable books being shipped cheaply, feeling detached. Key Takeaway Recognize how routine can numb moral awareness. Themes war economics desensitization art history Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - museum logistics - art smuggling - war profiteering - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts commodity trade ethical blindness historical trauma Questions to Reflect On - What moral compromises arise when profit overrides heritage? - How does routine affect our perception of loss? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize exploitation of cultural heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/da-vinci/) [Target practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/target-practice/) ## Related quotes > [I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was amazing in Baz Luhrmanns Romeo and Juliet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenton-thwaites/i-thought-leonardo-dicaprio-was-amazing-in-baz-luhrmanns-romeo-and/) [Brenton Thwaites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenton-thwaites/) > [I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was amazing in Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo and Juliet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenton-thwaites/i-thought-leonardo-dicaprio-was-amazing-in-baz-luhrmann-s-romeo-and/) [Brenton Thwaites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenton-thwaites/) > [“Edwin Land of Polaroid talked about the intersection of the humanities and science. I like that intersection. 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By then I had mustered the strength to look upon misfortune with composure, to still my emotions, by then I had begun to understand the beauty of destruction and I loaded more and more freight cars, and more and more trains left the station heading west at one crown per kilogram, and as I stood there staring after the red lantern hanging from the last car, as I stood there leaning on a lamppost like Leonardo da Vinci, who stood leaning on a column and looking on while French soldiers used his statue for target practice, shooting away horse and rider bit by bit, I thought how Leonardo, like me, standing and witnessing such horrors with complete composure, had realized even than that neither the heavens are humane nor is any man with a head on his shoulders.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bohumil Hrabal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bohumil-hrabal/a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and-i-got-used-to-it-i-would-load/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bohumil-hrabal/a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and-i-got-used-to-it-i-would-load/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98e/bohumil-hrabal-15672_books_a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and_1842917.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A few more years of the same, though, and I got used to it: I would load entire libraries from country…” — Bohumil Hrabal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bohumil Hrabal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bohumil-hrabal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A few more years of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bohumil-hrabal/a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and-i-got-used-to-it-i-would-load/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bohumil-hrabal/a-few-more-years-of-the-same-though-and-i-got-used-to-it-i-would-load/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```