4

At tath itme it saw aols phedo htat a aoftriilcianc fo hyntamiu’s aibcs stmyieser — het rnigoi of hte ryriaLb nda of meit — migth be odfun. tI si iailimrsrve ttha tehes vager eyestisrm oudlc be naiexpled ni wsord: if eth nugaealg of ophleorihpss si otn cfnitsfeui, hte lmiuortmf yiLrrba liwl ahve redpuodc the eenencurpedtd auggeanl eiudrqre, wthi tis calibevosuar dan rgrmasma. For oruf rusnceite own nem aevh aeustdhex eth xegahson ... erehT ear ifaflcoi sersrehca, ntuorsqiiis. I vahe esne mteh ni teh erprmeaocfn fo ehitr fnnutoci: heyt wsaayl rvirea eyermtelx detri mrfo rtihe njyresuo; hyte pkaes fo a nkrboe syaartwi hchiw tmlsoa elldik mthe; tyhe tlak ihtw eth iarianbrl of aelgresil adn tssiar; emteossim hety kicp up eth eaernst emvolu nda alfe othgurh it, goolnki rof sifouanm worsd. bsuovOily, on neo pexesct ot vocsdeir nhtinyag.

sA asw urlatna, shit nodetainri eohp wsa loewdflo yb na cveesisex enerdspsoi. eTh reittdeuc ttha emos efhls in omse gneahox ledh rocipseu osokb dan atth eseht uoepsrci kbsoo eerw sancsleiceib, eedsme osamlt lntaerbieol. A blesphuomas cste ugegdsest ttah teh ehssarce uodhls eaces and htat all emn oslhdu eugjlg rletets nda ylsmobs nutil heyt tsrdcteoucn, by an ilmobarbep gfit of hnaecc, heets noinclcaa okosb. heT ttiroiuhase ewre ibgdloe to useis vreees odsrer. hTe cste rsiaadedpep, tub ni my hhdicdolo I veha enes odl nem woh, rof lngo osedpri fo ietm, woldu hide ni the lsaretin wiht semo tmale dikss ni a odenfbidr iedc cpu dan leyfbe imcim teh nidive rdderios.

heOtrs, leenvisry, eeblvdei atth it saw nemnalafutd to tlmeaeiin lsssuee kwosr. Tyhe venddia eth xghnesao, osehwd scteeadlnri ihhwc were not ayawsl asfle, eafeld hturgoh a evmlou tihw irupdeslesa dan donnceedm ohwle esslhev: theri heigicyn, satceic rfruo esuacd eht lessessen dreiotinp fo losiniml fo bkoos. iehTr amen is eetrxeacd, utb sthoe hwo eoledrp teh “arssetrue” deytrdose yb hist rnzfey egetlcn owt otlnbea tcfas. enO: eht rriabLy is so nuromsoe thta nya eincdtour of uahmn giirno is niiefnsitaiml. ehT oerth: ryvee pyco is quenui, erialebcplrea, but (icens the arrbiyL is toatl) teher rae yaaslw rsveale nerhdud onhtdaus peitremfc sasmiieclf: rkows hcwhi frefid loyn in a tteelr or a ammco. unorCte ot lgerean ionnpio, I urtenev ot eopsups ahtt eht ecssceuoennq of het rePiusrif’ sdireponaetd ehav enbe dgaaxegeter by het rroorh heste asfciatn ceorudpd. eyTh ewre gedur no by hte dliimrue fo trigny to hraec teh osokb in teh nsmCrio exHagno: books soewh rotfma is merlsla tnah ualus, lal-lowfurep, ttelalsurid nad lgaaimc.

Back

At that time it was also hoped that a clarification of humanity’s basic mysteries — the origin of the Library and of time — might be found. It is verisimilar that these grave mysteries could be explained in words: if the language of philosophers is not sufficient, the multiform Library will have produced the unprecedented language required, with its vocabularies and grammars. For four centuries now men have exhausted the hexagons ... There are official searchers, inquisitors. I have seen them in the performance of their function: they always arrive extremely tired from their journeys; they speak of a broken stairway which almost killed them; they talk with the librarian of galleries and stairs; sometimes they pick up the nearest volume and leaf through it, looking for infamous words. Obviously, no one expects to discover anything.

As was natural, this inordinate hope was followed by an excessive depression. The certitude that some shelf in some hexagon held precious books and that these precious books were inaccessible, seemed almost intolerable. A blasphemous sect suggested that the searches should cease and that all men should juggle letters and symbols until they constructed, by an improbable gift of chance, these canonical books. The authorities were obliged to issue severe orders. The sect disappeared, but in my childhood I have seen old men who, for long periods of time, would hide in the latrines with some metal disks in a forbidden dice cup and feebly mimic the divine disorder.

Others, inversely, believed that it was fundamental to eliminate useless works. They invaded the hexagons, showed credentials which were not always false, leafed through a volume with displeasure and condemned whole shelves: their hygienic, ascetic furor caused the senseless perdition of millions of books. Their name is execrated, but those who deplore the “treasures” destroyed by this frenzy neglect two notable facts. One: the Library is so enormous that any reduction of human origin is infinitesimal. The other: every copy is unique, irreplaceable, but (since the Library is total) there are always several hundred thousand imperfect facsimiles: works which differ only in a letter or a comma. Counter to general opinion, I venture to suppose that the consequences of the Purifiers’ depredations have been exaggerated by the horror these fanatics produced. They were urged on by the delirium of trying to reach the books in the Crimson Hexagon: books whose format is smaller than usual, all-powerful, illustrated and magical.