--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The book is a form in which some of the…" description: "\"The book is a form in which some of the greatest masterpieces that mankind has ever achieved are expressed;\" — David Gelernter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png" --- # The book is a form in which some of the greatest… ![“The book is a form in which some of the greatest masterpieces that mankind has ever achieved are expressed;” quote by David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png) > “The book is a form in which some of the greatest masterpieces that mankind has ever achieved are expressed;” [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books serve as vessels for humanity’s greatest achievements, preserving them for future generations. **In simple terms:** Books hold humanity’s best work. Key Takeaway Preserve and read. Themes literature preservation culture Mood respectful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - library curation - personal reading Key Concepts creative expression historical record Questions to Reflect On - Which works have shaped your worldview? - How do you choose what to read? A Different Perspective Not all books are equally impactful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpiece/) [Masterpieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpieces/) ## Related quotes > [The love of a father is one of nature's greatest masterpieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-lowrie-marshall/the-love-of-a-father-is-one-of-nature-s-greatest-masterpieces/) Helen Lowrie Marshall > [“Ever since the days when such formidable mediocrities as Galsworthy, Dreiser, Tagore, Maxim Gorky, Romain Rolland and Thomas Mann were being accepted as geniuses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/ever-since-the-days-when-such-formidable-mediocrities-as-galsworthy/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Well, it wasn't really a decision on my part although you always hope as an author that a book that goes out of print…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-colacello/well-it-wasn-t-really-a-decision-on-my-part-although-you-always-hope/) [Bob Colacello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-colacello/) > [We always wanted to do a children's book of some form or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-wilson/we-always-wanted-to-do-a-children-s-book-of-some-form-or-another/) [Nancy Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-wilson/) > [However, we all share the firm belief in the triumph of humanist and progressive values that mankind has achieved during its long history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/however-we-all-share-the-firm-belief-in-the-triumph-of-humanist-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Only because of the striving nature of men has mankind achieved what it has so far. Men are made that way; they are designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/only-because-of-the-striving-nature-of-men-has-mankind-achieved-what/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) > [“The invisible people knew that happiness is not the natural state of mankind, and is never achieved from the outside in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-invisible-people-knew-that-happiness-is-not-the-natural-state-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Happiness is not the natural state of mankind, and is never achieved from the outside in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/happiness-is-not-the-natural-state-of-mankind-and-is-never-achieved/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [In a longish life as a professional writer, I have heard a thousand masterpieces talked out over bars, restaurant tables and love seats. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/in-a-longish-life-as-a-professional-writer-i-have-heard-a-thousand/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [My mother's songs are really turning out to be masterpieces. I have inherited this incredible legacy and am so fortunate to bathe in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/my-mother-s-songs-are-really-turning-out-to-be-masterpieces-i-have/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Masterpieces of art possess immense potential to advance a worldview that could help assuage the societal terrors posed by globalization, the most thoroughgoing socioeconomic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/masterpieces-of-art-possess-immense-potential-to-advance-a-worldview/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [The stuff of which masterpieces are made drifts about the world waiting to be clothed in words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-stuff-of-which-masterpieces-are-made-drifts-about-the-world/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [And the works that endure and will endure for ever, the great masterpieces, cannot have come into being as humanity... imagines. Man is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/and-the-works-that-endure-and-will-endure-for-ever-the-great/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [A good critic is the man who describes his adventures among masterpieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/a-good-critic-is-the-man-who-describes-his-adventures-among/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [The effect of studying masterpieces is to make me admire and do otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/the-effect-of-studying-masterpieces-is-to-make-me-admire-and-do/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) ## More by David Gelernter > [At the same time, on the networks, there are thousands of groups that are building lifestreams, or lifestreaming for themselves in their own way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/at-the-same-time-on-the-networks-there-are-thousands-of-groups-that/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [readable text and authority so that readers know how to spend - no matter how much information there is, I have the same number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/readable-text-and-authority-so-that-readers-know-how-to-spend-no/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The best computer scientists are...technologists who crave beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-best-computer-scientists-are-technologists-who-crave-beauty/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in-2/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Similarly for marking exercises, quantitative exercises, maybe not so much in mathematics, but certainly problem sets in physics, chemistry, and engineering and things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/similarly-for-marking-exercises-quantitative-exercises-maybe-not-so/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The "paperless office" is a bad idea because paper is one of the most useful and valuable media ever invented. "On paper" is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-paperless-office-is-a-bad-idea-because-paper-is-one-of-the-most/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The first step is always to succeed in becoming surprised - to notice that there is something funny going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-first-step-is-always-to-succeed-in-becoming-surprised-to-notice/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [“Discouragement is a moral state, a failure of heart; you treat it by taking courage, not Prozac.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/discouragement-is-a-moral-state-a-failure-of-heart-you-treat-it-by/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [If this is the information age, what are we so well-informed about?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/if-this-is-the-information-age-what-are-we-so-well-informed-about/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [Good programmers know what's beautiful and bad ones don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/good-programmers-know-what-s-beautiful-and-bad-ones-don-t/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [While we bemoan the decline of literacy, computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/while-we-bemoan-the-decline-of-literacy-computers-discount-words-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [I would love to see writing taught online because at university like Yale, there are not enough teachers who are able to teach writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/i-would-love-to-see-writing-taught-online-because-at-university-like/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [We still have books because they are so brilliantly suited to the way human beings absorb information and at their best, they are among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/we-still-have-books-because-they-are-so-brilliantly-suited-to-the-way/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [For years, computer scientists were treating operating systems design as sort of an open-reserch issue, when the field's direction had been decided by commercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/for-years-computer-scientists-were-treating-operating-systems-design/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) [Explore all 35 David Gelernter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The book is a form in which some of the greatest masterpieces that mankind has ever achieved are expressed;", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Gelernter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the-greatest-masterpieces-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the-greatest-masterpieces-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/david-gelernter-18312_book_the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the_2480183.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The book is a form in which some of the greatest masterpieces that mankind has ever achieved are expressed;” — David Gelernter", "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": "David Gelernter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The book is a form in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the-greatest-masterpieces-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/the-book-is-a-form-in-which-some-of-the-greatest-masterpieces-that/#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 } } ] } ```