--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a time when the world acted on…" description: "\"There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.\" — Joseph Joubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png" --- # There was a time when the world acted on books; now books… ![“There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.” quote by Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png) > “There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.” [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books once shaped society; now society is shaped by books, reflecting their powerful influence on culture and ideas. **In simple terms:** Books now drive cultural change. Key Takeaway Read critically and share influential works. Themes media culture influence Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - publishing - social media - policy making Key Concepts information diffusion cultural shift Questions to Reflect On - How do you see books influencing your field? - What responsibilities come with that influence? A Different Perspective Overestimates books' power without considering other media. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [As a novelist, you have to be free. Books can't be an act of filial duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/as-a-novelist-you-have-to-be-free-books-can-t-be-an-act-of-filial-duty/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [We could change the world tomorrow if all the millions of people around the world acted the way they believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-could-change-the-world-tomorrow-if-all-the-millions-of-people/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [She is never alone when she has Her Books. Books, to her, are Friends. Give her Shakespeare or Jane Austen, Meredith or Hardy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-is-never-alone-when-she-has-her-books-books-to-her-are-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For books are more than books, they are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-books-are-more-than-books-they-are-the-life-the-very-heart-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Not so, however, with books, for books cannot change. A thousand years hence they are what you find them to-day, speaking the same words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/not-so-however-with-books-for-books-cannot-change-a-thousand-years/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [Books, the books that I loved above all else to spend my time with, were the great tools for understanding one's life and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-douglas/books-the-books-that-i-loved-above-all-else-to-spend-my-time-with/) Ellen Douglas > [If minds are truly alive they will seek out books, for books are the human race recounting its memorable experiences, confronting its problems, searching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-minds-are-truly-alive-they-will-seek-out-books-for-books-are-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love the idea of books being more than books, or being, rather, something other than books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-love-the-idea-of-books-being-more-than-books-or-being-rather/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Luckily for me, I loved books. Books can enlighten but can also benight, but at least one can play one off against another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/luckily-for-me-i-loved-books-books-can-enlighten-but-can-also-benight/) [Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ng-g-wa-thiong-o/) > [“We want splendid books ... books that prove to us that love is at work in the world next to evil, right up against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/we-want-splendid-books-books-that-prove-to-us-that-love-is-at-work-in/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [The books are the books, and a lot of the stuff is some version of your id or your ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-michael-bendis/the-books-are-the-books-and-a-lot-of-the-stuff-is-some-version-of/) [Brian Michael Bendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-michael-bendis/) > [My books are the books that I am, the confused man, the negligent man, the reckless man, the lusty, obscene, boisterous, scrupulous, lying, diabolically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/my-books-are-the-books-that-i-am-the-confused-man-the-negligent-man/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The truly great books are the few books that are over everybody's head all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truly-great-books-are-the-few-books-that-are-over-everybody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're not allowed to say anything about books because they're books, and books are, you know, God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-re-not-allowed-to-say-anything-about-books-because-they-re-books/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Keep away from books and from men who get their ideas from books, and your own books will always be fresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/keep-away-from-books-and-from-men-who-get-their-ideas-from-books-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Joseph Joubert > [Living requires but little life; doing requires much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/living-requires-but-little-life-doing-requires-much/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [A false mind is false in everything, just as a cross eye always looks askant. But one may err once, nay, a hundred times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/a-false-mind-is-false-in-everything-just-as-a-cross-eye-always-looks/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [What a man knows only through feeling can be explained only through enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/what-a-man-knows-only-through-feeling-can-be-explained-only-through/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Imagination is the eye of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/imagination-is-the-eye-of-the-soul/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [One man finds in religion his literature and his science, another finds in it his joy and his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/one-man-finds-in-religion-his-literature-and-his-science-another/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many people become abstract as a way of appearing profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-people-become-abstract-as-a-way-of-appearing-profound/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [How many books there are whose reputation is made that would not obtain it were it now to make?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/how-many-books-there-are-whose-reputation-is-made-that-would-not/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [God has commanded Time to console the unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/god-has-commanded-time-to-console-the-unhappy/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We shall always keep a spare corner in our heads to give passing hospitality to our friends' opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-shall-always-keep-a-spare-corner-in-our-heads-to-give-passing/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Agriculture engenders good sense, and good sense of an excellent kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/agriculture-engenders-good-sense-and-good-sense-of-an-excellent-kind/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [We may convince others by our arguements, but we can only persuade them by their own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-may-convince-others-by-our-arguements-but-we-can-only-persuade/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [To teach is to learn twice. About all some parents accomplish in life is to send a child to Harvard. The purpose of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/to-teach-is-to-learn-twice-about-all-some-parents-accomplish-in-life/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Grace is in garments, in movements, in manners; beauty in the nude, and in forms. This is true of bodies; but when we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/grace-is-in-garments-in-movements-in-manners-beauty-in-the-nude-and/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) [Explore all 306 Joseph Joubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) ## More Acted quotes > [I never really acted at school. It was doing small parts on TV that really got me started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-highmore/i-never-really-acted-at-school-it-was-doing-small-parts-on-tv-that/) [Freddie Highmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-highmore/) > [I've acted for as long as I can remember, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-purnell/i-ve-acted-for-as-long-as-i-can-remember-really/) [Ella Purnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-purnell/) > [It's rare to get a really truly wonderfully written, acted and produced sci-fi show, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hatch/it-s-rare-to-get-a-really-truly-wonderfully-written-acted-and/) [Richard Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hatch/) > [Asked at the hearing why she hadn't pressed the FBI more closely about what it knew, or didn't know, about domestic terrorist threats, Rice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fineman/asked-at-the-hearing-why-she-hadn-t-pressed-the-fbi-more-closely/) [Howard Fineman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fineman/) > [When you acted like 'The Beast' I still saw 'The Prince' in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/when-you-acted-like-the-beast-i-still-saw-the-prince-in-you/) [SONYA PARKER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action. What they have done commits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/show-me-a-man-who-has-acted-and-who-has-not-been-the-victim-and-slave/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am something of a ham. Yeah, I'd always been a writer. But in high school, I acted in plays. So it wasn't as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-am-something-of-a-ham-yeah-i-d-always-been-a-writer-but-in-high/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [“The way I acted...It wasn't you" "Oh, no. You're not even human. You don't get to use the It's not you, it's me line!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-landers/the-way-i-acted-it-wasn-t-you-oh-no-you-re-not-even-human-you-don-t/) [Melissa Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-landers/) > [I never acted out with my actions to show people that I'm getting grown, you never see me with a cigarette, or see me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/i-never-acted-out-with-my-actions-to-show-people-that-i-m-getting/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [I think I'm one of those guys who was sort of always in comedy. I thought of myself - and other people seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-daly/i-think-i-m-one-of-those-guys-who-was-sort-of-always-in-comedy-i/) [Andy Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-daly/) > [It was all for the Games. How you acted. -Peeta Mellark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunger-games/it-was-all-for-the-games-how-you-acted-peeta-mellark/) [Hunger Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunger-games/) > [I acted like Cary Grant for so long that I became Cary Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-grant/i-acted-like-cary-grant-for-so-long-that-i-became-cary-grant/) [Cary Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-grant/) > [The kinds of roles dogs fill can be hard to come by in human relationships. We touch the dog or the pet at whim.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/the-kinds-of-roles-dogs-fill-can-be-hard-to-come-by-in-human/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [I acted in 'Oomakkuyil' under Balu Mahendra's baton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/y-g-mahendran/i-acted-in-oomakkuyil-under-balu-mahendra-s-baton/) [Y. G. Mahendran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/y-g-mahendran/) > [I really loved when I started doing '70s Show,' though I had never acted before, so it was a great training ground being on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/topher-grace/i-really-loved-when-i-started-doing-70s-show-though-i-had-never-acted/) [Topher Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/topher-grace/) Browse all 192 Acted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Joubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on-books-now-books-act-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on-books-now-books-act-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/joseph-joubert-1017_acted_there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on_366627.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was a time when the world acted on books; now books act on the world.” — Joseph Joubert", "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": "Joseph Joubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There was a time when the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on-books-now-books-act-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/there-was-a-time-when-the-world-acted-on-books-now-books-act-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```