Philobiblon

Philobiblon (Latin for "love of books") is a short book in the bibliophile style written in Latin by Richard de Bury (1287–1345), Bishop of Durham in fourteenth-century England. It consists of twenty chapters and was completed shortly before his death; it was first printed in Cologne in 1473 and is one of the earliest works in the Western world to discuss book collecting, the love of books, and library management systematically, often called the founding work of the Western "book talk" genre. The book tells no story but is an ardent "defense" dedicated to books. The author first argues that the wealth of wisdom and truth is chiefly stored in books, then discusses what degree of love one should hold for books and how to regard price when buying them; he then lets "books" speak for themselves in complaint: against clergy who stop reading once promoted to high office, against property-owning monks and mendicant friars who only know how to accumulate, and against wars that burn classics. Bury also recounts how, through diplomatic missions and academic visits, he sought manuscripts everywhere, explaining why he favored classical works without lightly discarding contemporary learning, and why he valued grammar books and the fables of poets. The final chapters discuss opening collections for scholars to share, methods of lending books, rules of preservation, and the wish that benefited students repay with prayers. The book combines a medieval theological tone with vivid metaphors and impassioned satire, making it a primary text for understanding medieval book culture, manuscript transmission, and early library concepts. The Chinese translation is rendered from an English version and includes a translator's preface, the original English edition preface, an introduction, appendices, and an afterword.