Beauty Quote by Tom Holland
““By AD 800, so redeemed was Arabic from the contempt in which it had once been held that its sound had come to rank as the very music of power, and its cursives as things of pure beauty, refined to a rare and exquisite perfection by the art of its calligraphers. Among the Arabs, the written word was on the verge of becoming a mania. One scholar, when he died in 822, left behind him a library that filled a whole six hundred trunks.””
About This Quote
Source Book: In the Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland, 2012
Arabic script transformed from disdain to a symbol of power and aesthetic excellence, with calligraphy elevating its visual beauty and scholars amassing massive libraries.
In simple terms: Arabic writing became revered and beautiful, with huge libraries.
Key Takeaway
Value art and preserve knowledge.
Themes
culture
art
knowledge
history
calligraphy
Mood
proud
reflective
Type
historical
cultural
inspirational
When to use this quote
- academic research
- museum curation
- educational curricula
- heritage preservation
Key Concepts
aesthetic refinement
scholarly devotion
cultural prestige
Questions to Reflect On
- How does visual beauty influence cultural status?
- What drives societies to collect and preserve texts?
A Different Perspective
The shift may have been limited to elite circles, not the general populace.
![“[T]he greater the sense of awe with which a text was regarded, the more complete might be the amnesia as to the original circumstances of its composition.” quote by Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b66/tom-holland-3180_amnesia_t-he-greater-the-sense-of-awe-with-which_255137.jpg)
