--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books appear to be the most immediate…" description: "\"Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.\" — Richard de Bury" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png" --- # Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of… ![“Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.” quote by Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png) > “Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.” [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) ## 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 the primary means for indulging in imaginative speculation, offering immediate access to new ideas and worlds. **In simple terms:** Books enable instant imaginative exploration. Key Takeaway Reading fuels speculative thought. Themes imagination knowledge exploration literature creativity Mood curious enthusiastic Type aphoristic literary When to use this quote - seeking inspiration - escaping routine - researching possibilities - teaching concepts Key Concepts speculation instrument immediacy Practical Applications - creative writing - academic brainstorming Questions to Reflect On - How do books shape our capacity to imagine future scenarios? - What role does immediacy play in intellectual curiosity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just happy to have some American readers - enough that it's a viable proposition for my books to appear there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-m-just-happy-to-have-some-american-readers-enough-that-it-s-a/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [At the moment, I have it planned as a six or seven year experiment, but the books will only ever appear in bursts like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/at-the-moment-i-have-it-planned-as-a-six-or-seven-year-experiment-but/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [Maybe all wondrous books appear in our lives the way Milo’s tollbooth appears, an inexplicable gift, cast up by some curious chance that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/maybe-all-wondrous-books-appear-in-our-lives-the-way-milo-s-tollbooth/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ \[N\]othing about a book is so unmistakable and so irreplaceable as the stamp of the cultured mind. I don't care what the story is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/n-othing-about-a-book-is-so-unmistakable-and-so-irreplaceable-as-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/bold-ideas-unjustified-anticipations-and-speculative-thought-are-our/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Every novel begins with the speculative question, What if "X" happened? That's how you start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/every-novel-begins-with-the-speculative-question-what-if-x-happened/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Attempts to estimate the impacts of climate change continue to be highly speculative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/attempts-to-estimate-the-impacts-of-climate-change-continue-to-be/) William Nordhaus > [“There is a great difference between historical facts and speculative opinions ; nor is the knowledge of the one propagated in the same manner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-a-great-difference-between-historical-facts-and-speculative/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Those who had been riding the upward wave decide now is the time to get out. Those who thought the increase would be forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-who-had-been-riding-the-upward-wave-decide-now-is-the-time-to/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Never mingle your speculative and investment operations in the same account nor in any part of your thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/never-mingle-your-speculative-and-investment-operations-in-the-same/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Those who incline to very strictly utilitarian views may perhaps feel that the peculiar powers of the Analytical Engine bear upon questions of abstract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/those-who-incline-to-very-strictly-utilitarian-views-may-perhaps-feel/) [Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/) > [I like the idea of a big caesura between the narratives, a space which readers can fill in with their own speculative history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-like-the-idea-of-a-big-caesura-between-the-narratives-a-space-which/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“I mean, that was the code, wasn’t it? Single girls and taken guys weren’t allowed to be friends. The leash always got in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/i-mean-that-was-the-code-wasn-t-it-single-girls-and-taken-guys-weren/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) > [“My hopes for pie died on the sidewalk. There went my grin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/my-hopes-for-pie-died-on-the-sidewalk-there-went-my-grin/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) ## More by Richard de Bury > [Books are masters who instruct us without rods or ferules, without words or anger, without bread or money. If you approach them, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-are-masters-who-instruct-us-without-rods-or-ferules-without/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [All the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/all-the-glory-of-the-world-would-be-buried-in-oblivion-unless-god-had/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [“In books I meet the dead as if they were alive in books I see what is yet to come... All things decay and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/in-books-i-meet-the-dead-as-if-they-were-alive-in-books-i-see-what-is/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [You, O Books, are the golden vessels of the temple, the arms of the clerical militia with which the missiles of the most wicked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/you-o-books-are-the-golden-vessels-of-the-temple-the-arms-of-the/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [ “\[A\]ll who are smitten with the love of books think cheaply of the world and wealth; as Jerome says to Vigilantius: The same man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/a-ll-who-are-smitten-with-the-love-of-books-think-cheaply-of-the/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [Let us consider how great a commodity of doctrine exists in books; how easily, how secretly, how safely they expose the nakedness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/let-us-consider-how-great-a-commodity-of-doctrine-exists-in-books-how/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [The library...of wisdom is more precious than all riches, and nothing that can be wished for is worthy to be compared with it. Whosoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/the-library-of-wisdom-is-more-precious-than-all-riches-and-nothing/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [Books alone are liberal and free; they give to all who ask; they emancipate all who serve them faithfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-alone-are-liberal-and-free-they-give-to-all-who-ask-they/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [Books delight us when prosperity smiles upon us; they comfort us inseparably when stormy fortune frowns on us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-delight-us-when-prosperity-smiles-upon-us-they-comfort-us/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [A library of wisdom, then, is more precious than all wealth, and all things that are desirable cannot be compared to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/a-library-of-wisdom-then-is-more-precious-than-all-wealth-and-all/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) > [“Again, all who are smitten with the love of books think cheaply of the world and wealth; as Jerome says to Vigilantius: The same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/again-all-who-are-smitten-with-the-love-of-books-think-cheaply-of-the/) [Richard de Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) [Explore all 12 Richard de Bury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/) ## 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": "Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard de Bury" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-instruments-of-speculative/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-instruments-of-speculative/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/richard-de-bury-38022_book_books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-in_70592.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books appear to be the most immediate instruments of speculative delight.” — Richard de Bury", "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": "Richard de Bury", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-de-bury/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books appear to be the most...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-instruments-of-speculative/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-de-bury/books-appear-to-be-the-most-immediate-instruments-of-speculative/#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 } } ] } ```