--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books, of which the principles are…" description: "\"Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed, must be kept on the shelf of the scholar, as the man of science preserves monsters in glasses...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg" --- # Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed… ![“Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed, must be kept on the shelf of the scholar, as the man of science preserves monsters in glasses. They belong to the study of the mind's morbid anatomy, and ought to be accurately labelled. Voltaire will still be a wit, notwithstanding he is a…” quote by Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg) > “Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed, must be kept on the shelf of the scholar, as the man of science preserves monsters in glasses. They belong to the study of the mind's morbid anatomy, and ought to be accurately labelled. Voltaire will still be a wit, notwithstanding he is a scoffer; and we may admire the brilliant spots and eyes of the viper, if we acknowledge its venom and call it a reptile.” [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books with flawed ideas should be treated as specimens for study, not for casual reading, akin to scientific specimens in a lab. **In simple terms:** Treat bad books as study objects, not entertainment. Key Takeaway Analyze, don’t idolize faulty works. Themes criticism scholarship knowledge discipline Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic research - library curation - personal reading choices Key Concepts epistemology intellectual hygiene scientific method Questions to Reflect On - What criteria decide a work belongs on the shelf versus the shelf? - How does labeling flawed ideas help intellectual growth? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acknowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledge/) [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Anatomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy/) [Anatomy Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anatomy-ought-1658329/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Diseased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diseased/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses/) [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Labelled Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labelled-voltaire-1658331/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Morbid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morbid/) [Morbid Anatomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morbid-anatomy-1658333/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Preserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preserves/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Principles Diseased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles-diseased-1658330/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reptiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reptiles/) [Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholar/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scoffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoffers/) [Shelf Scholar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-scholar-1658332/) [Shelves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelves/) [Spots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spots/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Venom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venom/) [Vipers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vipers/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [“Morbid anatomy is essential to training and research, but leads many doctors into thinking that life is an agitation in something essentially dead. 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Idolatry functions widely inside religious communities when doctrinal truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/an-idol-is-something-that-we-look-to-for-things-that-only-god-can/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-do-not-think-i-could-myself-be-brought-to-support-a-man-for-office/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whatever... you pretend... if any of you be a prayerless person, or a scoffer, or a lover of evil company, in a word, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-alleine/whatever-you-pretend-if-any-of-you-be-a-prayerless-person-or-a/) [Joseph Alleine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-alleine/) > [“What good is praying in public if you as an individual do not follow The Teachings of GOD'S Prophets in The Holy Bible ? Repent !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-anthony-smythe/what-good-is-praying-in-public-if-you-as-an-individual-do-not-follow/) [Errol Anthony Smythe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-anthony-smythe/) > [Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-peter/knowing-this-first-that-there-shall-come-in-the-last-days-scoffers/) [Saint Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-peter/) > [The tears that you spill, the sorrowful, are sweeter than the laughter of snobs and the guffaws of scoffers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-tears-that-you-spill-the-sorrowful-are-sweeter-than-the-laughter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth. We know truth when we see it, let skeptic and scoffer say what they choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-soul-is-the-perceiver-and-revealer-of-truth-we-know-truth-when-we-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The abstractionist and the materialist thus mutually exasperating each other, and the scoffer expressing the worst of materialism, there arises a third party to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsilio-ficino/the-abstractionist-and-the-materialist-thus-mutually-exasperating/) [Marsilio Ficino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsilio-ficino/) > [At such times, the heart of man turns instictively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-northup/at-such-times-the-heart-of-man-turns-instictively-towards-his-maker/) [Solomon Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-northup/) > [When we free ourselves from the constraints of ordinary goals and uninformed scoffers we will find ourselves roaring off the face of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/when-we-free-ourselves-from-the-constraints-of-ordinary-goals-and/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Science is dangerous. There is no question but that poison gas, genetic engineering, and nuclear weapons and power stations are terrifying. It may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/science-is-dangerous-there-is-no-question-but-that-poison-gas-genetic/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth. We know truth when we see it, let skeptic and scoffer say what they choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-soul-is-the-perceiver-and-revealer-of-truth-we-know-truth-when-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon/the-fear-of-the-lord-is-the-beginning-of-wisdom/) [Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon/) ## More by Robert Aris Willmott > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Genius finds its own road and carries its own lamp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/genius-finds-its-own-road-and-carries-its-own-lamp/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A first book has some of the sweetness of a first love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/a-first-book-has-some-of-the-sweetness-of-a-first-love/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The discovery of one star is the promise of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-discovery-of-one-star-is-the-promise-of-another/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Some gifted adventurer is always sailing round the world of art and science, to bring home costly merchandise from every port.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/some-gifted-adventurer-is-always-sailing-round-the-world-of-art-and/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Taste is not stationary. It grows every day, and is improved by cultivation, as a good temper is refined by religion. In its most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/taste-is-not-stationary-it-grows-every-day-and-is-improved-by/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The gloomy recess of an ecclesiastical library is like a harbor, into which a far-traveling curiosity has sailed with its freight, and cast anchor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-gloomy-recess-of-an-ecclesiastical-library-is-like-a-harbor-into/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Romance is the truth of imagination and boyhood. Homer's horses clear the world at a bound. The child's eye needs no horizon to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/romance-is-the-truth-of-imagination-and-boyhood-homer-s-horses-clear/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The advice of a scholar, whose piles of learning were set on fire by imagination, is never to be forgotten. Proportion an hour's reflection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-advice-of-a-scholar-whose-piles-of-learning-were-set-on-fire-by/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The drama embraces and applies all the beauties and decorations of poetry. The sister arts attend and adorn it. Painting, architecture, and music are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-drama-embraces-and-applies-all-the-beauties-and-decorations-of/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [From numberless books the fluttering reader, idle and inconstant, bears away the bloom that only clings to the outer leaf; but genius has its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/from-numberless-books-the-fluttering-reader-idle-and-inconstant-bears/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [The history of men of science has one peculiar advantage, as it shows the importance of little things in producing great results. Smeaton learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/the-history-of-men-of-science-has-one-peculiar-advantage-as-it-shows/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Whatever is pure is also simple. It does not keep the eye on itself. The observer forgets the window in the landscape it displays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/whatever-is-pure-is-also-simple-it-does-not-keep-the-eye-on-itself/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Humor is the pensiveness of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/humor-is-the-pensiveness-of-wit/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) [Explore all 62 Robert Aris Willmott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) ## More Acknowledge quotes > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) [Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) > [I'm a Christian because Christianity names and addresses sin. It acknowledges the reality that the evil we observe in the world is also present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-m-a-christian-because-christianity-names-and-addresses-sin-it/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [The only way to ease our fear and be truly happy is to acknowledge our fear and look deeply at its source. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-to-ease-our-fear-and-be-truly-happy-is-to-acknowledge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/on-thanksgiving-day-we-acknowledge-our-dependence/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [You can't go into games with any fear. You can acknowledge a good team but you can't go in worrying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-james/you-can-t-go-into-games-with-any-fear-you-can-acknowledge-a-good-team/) [Reece James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-james/) > [Conservative feminism is such an artificial term that doesn't mean much to me. For me conservatism means accepting reality. I acknowledge that there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristina-schroder/conservative-feminism-is-such-an-artificial-term-that-doesn-t-mean/) [Kristina Schroder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristina-schroder/) > [We must acknowledge that bearing and raising children is not some pesky, peripheral activity that we engage in, but the whole point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-maushart/we-must-acknowledge-that-bearing-and-raising-children-is-not-some/) [Susan Maushart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-maushart/) > [When we pray, we must begin by conceiving God in full and vigorous images, but we must go on to acknowledge the inadequacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-farrer/when-we-pray-we-must-begin-by-conceiving-god-in-full-and-vigorous/) [Austin Farrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-farrer/) > [Acknowledging foolishness is a very powerful and important experience. We could almost say that being willing to be a fool is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/acknowledging-foolishness-is-a-very-powerful-and-important-experience/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [No one seriously doubts Socrates' maxim: The unexamined life isn't worth living. Self-assessment and attempts at self-improvement are essential aspects of "the good life."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-burton/no-one-seriously-doubts-socrates-maxim-the-unexamined-life-isn-t/) [Robert A. Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-burton/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [It is in the measure that special methods acknowledge their common core in transcendental method, that norms common to all the sciences will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/it-is-in-the-measure-that-special-methods-acknowledge-their-common/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [I can hear of the brilliant accomplishments of any of my sex with pleasure and rejoice in that liberality of sentiment which acknowledges them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-adams/i-can-hear-of-the-brilliant-accomplishments-of-any-of-my-sex-with/) [Abigail Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-adams/) [Browse all 1,475 Acknowledge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed, must be kept on the shelf of the scholar, as the man of science preserves monsters in glasses. 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Voltaire will still be a wit, notwithstanding he is a scoffer; and we may admire the brilliant spots and eyes of the viper, if we acknowledge its venom and call it a reptile.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Aris Willmott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseased-or-deformed-must-be-kept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acknowledge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseased-or-deformed-must-be-kept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/robert-aris-willmott-11067_acknowledge_books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseas_1757030.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books, of which the principles are diseased or deformed, must be kept on the shelf of the scholar, as the…” — Robert Aris Willmott", "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": "Robert Aris Willmott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books, of which the principles are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseased-or-deformed-must-be-kept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/books-of-which-the-principles-are-diseased-or-deformed-must-be-kept/#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 } } ] } ```