To maintain an unchangeable sweetness of disposition, to think only thoughts that are pure and gentle, and to be happy under all circumstances,- such blessed conditions and such beauty of character and life should be the aim of all, and particularly so of those who wish to lessen the misery of the world. If anyone has failed to lift himself above ungentleness, impurity, and unhappiness, he is greatly deluded if he imagines he can make the world happier by the propagation of any theory or theology. He who is daily living in harshness, impurity, or unhappiness is day by day adding to the sum of the world's misery; whereas he who continually lives in goodwill, and does not depart from happiness, is day by day increasing the sum of the world's happiness, and this independently of any religious beliefs which these may or may not hold.
He who has not learned how to be gentle, or giving, loving and happy, has learned very little, great though his book-learning and profound his acquaintance which the letter of Scripture may be, for it is in the process of becoming gentle, pure, and happy that the deep, real and enduring lessons of life are learned. Unbroken sweetness of conduct in the face of all outward antagonism is the infallible indication of a self-conquered soul, the witness of wisdom, and the proof of the possession of Truth.
A sweet and happy soul is the ripened fruit of experience and wisdom, and it sheds abroad the invisible yet powerful aroma of its influence, gladdening the hearts of others, and purifying the world. And all who will, and who have not yet commenced, may begin this day, if they will so resolve, to live sweetly and happily, as becomes the dignity of a true manhood or womanhood. Do not say that your surroundings are against you. A man's surroundings are never against him; they are there to aid him, and all those outward occurrences over which you lose sweetness and peace of mind are the very conditions necessary to your development, and it is only by meeting and overcoming them that you can learn, and grow, and ripen. The fault is in yourself.
Pure happiness is the rightful and healthy condition of the soul, and all may possess it if they will live purely and unselfish.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
21 LAWS OF MONEY
1. The Law of Cause and Effect: Everything happens for a reason;
there is a cause for every effect.
2. The Law of Belief: Whatever you truly believe, with feeling, becomes
your reality.
3. The Law of Expectations: Whatever you expect, with confidence,
becomes your own self-fulfilling prophecy.
4. The Law of Attraction: You are a living magnet; you invariably
attract into your life the people, situations and circumstances that are in
harmony with your dominant thoughts.
5. The Law of Correspondence: Your outer world is a reflection of
your inner world and corresponds with your dominant patterns of
thinking.
6. The Law of Abundance: We live in an abundant universe in which
there is sufficient money for all who really want it and are willing obey
the laws governing its acquisition.
7. The Law of Exchange: Money is the medium through which people
exchange their labor in the production of goods and services for the
goods and services of others.
8. The Law of Capital: Your most valuable asset, in terms of cash flow,
is your physical and mental capital, your earning ability.
9. The Law of Time Perspective: The most successful people in any
society are those who take the longest time period into consideration
when making their day-to-day decisions.
10. The Law of Saving: Financial freedom comes to the person who
saves ten percent or more of his income throughout his lifetime.
11. The Law of Conservation: Its not how much you make, but how
much you keep, that determines your financial future.
12. Parkinson’s Law: Expenses rise to meet income.
13. The Law of Three: There are three legs to the stool of financial
freedom: savings, insurance and investment.
14. The Law of Investing: Investigate before you invest.
15. The Law of Compound Interest: Investing your money carefully and
allowing it to grow at compound interest will eventually make you rich.
16. The Law of Accumulation: Every great financial achievement is an
accumulation of hundreds of small efforts and sacrifices that no one
ever sees or appreciates.
17. The Law of Magnetism: The more money you save and accumulate,
the more money you attract into your life.
18. The Law of Accelerating Acceleration: The faster you move
toward financial freedom, the faster it moves toward you.
19. The Law of the Stock Market: The value of a stock is the total
anticipated cash flow from the stock discounted to the present day.
20. The Law of Real Estate: The value of a piece of Real Estate is the
future earning power of that particular piece of property.
21. The Law of the Internet: The Internet is a tool for rapid
communication of information of all kinds.
From 21 unbreakable laws of money by Brian Tracy
OUR MEMORY
A good memory is truly important for anyone to possess. Your memory of faces, names, facts, information, dates, events, circumstances and other things concerning your everyday life is the measure of your ability to prevail in today’s fast-paced, information-dependent society. With a good memory, you don’t have to fear forgetting/misplacing important stuffs and you can overcome mental barriers that hinder you from achieving success in your career, love life, and personal life.
Your memory is composed of complicated neural connections in your brain which are believed to be capable of holding millions of data. The ability of your mind to retain past experiences in a highly organized manner gives you the potential to learn and create different ideas. Your experiences are the stepping stones to greater accomplishments and at the same time your guides and protectors from danger. If your memory serves you well in this respect, you are saved the agony of repeating the mistakes of the past. By remembering crucial lessons and circumstances, you avoid the mistakes and failures made by other people.
Unless you have an illness or handicap, a poor memory is often attributed to lack of attention or concentration, insufficient listening skills, and other inherent bad habits; however, it can be honed and developed using the right methods.
Many people believe that their memory gets worse as they get older. This is true only for those who do not use their memory properly. Memory is like a muscle - the more it is used, the better it gets. The more it is neglected, the worse it gets. This is the reason why older people have more trouble remembering than younger ones. However, people increasing in age can overcome this dilemma and can even further improve their memory by continuing their education, by refining their minds, by keeping themselves open to new experiences, and by keeping their imagination working. An important thing to realize is that different people have various ways of learning. The way in which people learn is often a factor determining the subjects they choose to study, instructors they relate to, and careers they select.
Memorization or retention of data operates by loading images, sounds, taste, smell, and sensation (touch) in a very organized and meaningful combination in our brain. There are three types of memory.
Sensory Memory is where temporary information is briefly recorded. Images such as a picture in a magazine and the design on your customer’s clothing are momentarily stored in the sensory memory. It will be quickly replaced by another sensory memory unless you do something to retain it.
Short-term Memory, characterized by 20 to 30 seconds of retention, involves a limited amount of information, and is necessary in traditional processing of experiences and ordinary data gathering (everyday sensation and perception). For example, you were taught by your professor some great techniques on how to easily solve complicated Math problems. The next time you take a Math exam, you may possibly remember some of the formulas, but it’s doubtful you’ll be able to recall and apply all the methods being taught.
Long-term Memory involves consolidation and organization of complex knowledge and information for further reference and other cognitive (mental) processing such as the application of learning or information into meaningful experiences. Examples would include your birthday, your father’s name, and your home’s appearance.
Short-term and long-term memories are concerned with how you continually organize data that are stored in your brain. In short, human memory is like a vast and complicated yet organized library, rather than a trash can or disordered store room.
In order for you to further develop your memory capacity in various tasks, it would be helpful if you consider points and ideas in improving your memory. This would make your retention practices more efficient and sharper.
ALL OF US HAVE RIGHT TO BE RICH
WHATEVER MAY BE SAID IN PRAISE OF POVERTY, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really
complete or successful life unless one is rich. No one can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or
soul development unless he has plenty of money, for to unfold the soul and to de-velop talent he must
have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has money to buy them with.
A person develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of things, and society is so organized
that man must have money in order to become the possessor of things. Therefore, the basis of all
advancement must be the science of getting rich.
The object of all life is development, and everything that lives has an inalienable right to all the
development it is capable of attaining.
A person’s right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted use of all the things which
may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual, and physical unfoldment; or, in other words, his right
to be rich.
In this book, I shall not speak of riches in a figurative way. To be really rich does not mean to be
satisfied or contented with a little. No one ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of using and
enjoying more. The purpose of nature is the advancement and unfoldment of life, and everyone should
have all that can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life. To be content with less
is sinful.
The person who owns all he wants for the living of all the life he is capable of living is rich, and no
person who has not plenty of money can have all he wants. Life has advanced so far and become so
complex that even the most ordinary man or woman requires a great amount of wealth in order to live
in a manner that even approaches completeness. Every person naturally wants to become all that they
are capable of becoming. This desire to realize innate possibilities is inherent in human nature; we
cannot help wanting to be all that we can be. Success in life is becoming what you want to be. You can
become what you want to be only by making use of things, and you can have the free use of things only
as you become rich enough to buy them. To understand the science of getting rich is therefore the most
essential of all knowledge.
There is nothing wrong in wanting to get rich. The desire for riches is really the desire for a richer,
fuller, and more abundant life — and that desire is praiseworthy. The person who does not desire to live
more abundantly is abnormal, and so the person who does not desire to have money enough to buy all
he wants is abnormal.
There are three motives for which we live: We live for the body, we live for the mind, we live for the
soul. No one of these is better or holier than the other; all are alike desirable, and no one of the three —
body, mind, or soul — can live fully if either of the others is cut short of full life and expression. It is not
right or noble to live only for the soul and deny mind or body, and it is wrong to live for the intellect and
deny body or soul. From the book: The Science of getting rich.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
HOW TO WRITE E-BOOKS
FREE DOWNLOAD FOR YOUWrite what you know. The problem with other e-book writers is that they try to conquer all niches. They write about topics even if they don't know them very well. The problem in going this route is that it can hurt your online reputation. If you are unable to offer your readers with great content, they are most likely to get the word out. This can discourage your other prospective buyers to do business with you.
It's very important that you have exceptional writing skills to make it big in this endeavor. You must be comfortable putting your ideas into writing and you must have the capability to share information using as few words as possible. If you think you need to improve your writing skills to better serve your audience, I recommend that you read relevant resources to get writing tips and take advantage of writing seminars.
HOW TO ADVERTISE YOUR E-BOOK
The creation and sale of eBooks is gaining momentum like never before. For Internet marketers, publishing and selling eBooks on the Amazon Kindle is a fantastic opportunity for additional revenue.
But oftentimes, promoting your eBook can seem a daunting and intimidating task. Where do I promote my eBook? How do I promote my eBook? Will this take away from my established business? How will my current customers feel about this new venture?
These concerns, among others, are understandable but not necessary. In fact, publishing an eBook for the Amazon Kindle can and will be extremely lucrative for your online business if you promote it properly and understand the power of this additional revenue stream.
The first and most important considerations should be that all content is both original and valuable. But if you are already an established Internet marketer, this is a given.
Secondly, consider the fact that there is no overhead to produce an eBook, no publisher to reconcile with, and the best part about Amazon is that they allow you to set your own price. (However, be aware that you will only be entitled to 35% of your suggested retail price on the sale of each eBook.)
Finally, you will have to apply tried and true online marketing techniques to the promotion of your eBook in order to ensure its success. While Amazon will publish your eBook and make it available to download for customers, it will not promote it.
You will have to:
You will have to:
* Utilize keywords and effective SEO methods to let others know about and find your eBook.
* Create and distribute press releases announcing the availability of your eBook on Amazon Kindle.
* Submit keyword driven articles to industry directories, ezines and other online communities where you can reach your target market.
* Blog about your eBook, the process of writing it, and the excitement of being published.
Remember, you know your business, your industry and your target market better than anyone else. Focus on your audience and think about how and where they might find your eBook, why they should buy it and how to keep them coming back for more.
HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST E-BOOK
An eBook is like any other information product. It's totally valueless until it is sold to the reader or user. And unless you can be sure that it will be read you shouldn't be writing it. So the place to begin, like any other product, is with market planning.
You need to know, in advance, who will buy and read your book. Why they will buy and read you book. And your need to write your book so that your reader will buy it.
In other words, your book has to be the book your reader most wants in the world.
And the only way to do that is to start by identifying your reader. Then identify their most pressing hot button. Then write your book to fix that problem. In short, hit the hot button, then stand on it and jump up and down!
To do that you need to begin by identifying your target reader. The perfect person to read your book. The one person who can't help but buy your book.
What you need to do is build up a profile of that person. A clear, picture in your mind of that person. Why? Because you need to imagine yourself talking to that person across the kitchen table. This person has told you they have a problem and you have the solution to that problem. Now you are going to share the solution with them over a coffee.
That's how well you need to know your target reader.
To build up that profile begin with a friend who might be interested in your subject. Describe them in detail. Role playing game character sheets can be useful to get you started. Build up a history and back story for them. Are they married? Are they single? Where do they work? Where do they live? Are the rich? Are they poor? What are their spending habits? Write down everything you can think of including their physical characteristics.
Next you need to be sure that such a person would be interested in your subject. So ask yourself what characteristics are key to someone being interested in your subject. What characteristics are necessary? If your subject is investment strategies for the middle aged, having a teenage target reader probably isn't going to give you the results you wish. What you are looking for are the characteristics your target reader must have in order to be interested in your subject.
Now that you've adjusted the target reader until they are interested in your subject, you need to verify that they exist. After all a book specifically for people 7 foot and over may sell a copy to everyone in that demographic but it still won't be a best seller.
Now ask yourself two questions. "What one problem can my target reader not ignore?" And "How can my subject solve that problem for them?" Answer those questions truthfully and you'll have a best seller.
You need to know, in advance, who will buy and read your book. Why they will buy and read you book. And your need to write your book so that your reader will buy it.
In other words, your book has to be the book your reader most wants in the world.
And the only way to do that is to start by identifying your reader. Then identify their most pressing hot button. Then write your book to fix that problem. In short, hit the hot button, then stand on it and jump up and down!
To do that you need to begin by identifying your target reader. The perfect person to read your book. The one person who can't help but buy your book.
What you need to do is build up a profile of that person. A clear, picture in your mind of that person. Why? Because you need to imagine yourself talking to that person across the kitchen table. This person has told you they have a problem and you have the solution to that problem. Now you are going to share the solution with them over a coffee.
That's how well you need to know your target reader.
To build up that profile begin with a friend who might be interested in your subject. Describe them in detail. Role playing game character sheets can be useful to get you started. Build up a history and back story for them. Are they married? Are they single? Where do they work? Where do they live? Are the rich? Are they poor? What are their spending habits? Write down everything you can think of including their physical characteristics.
Next you need to be sure that such a person would be interested in your subject. So ask yourself what characteristics are key to someone being interested in your subject. What characteristics are necessary? If your subject is investment strategies for the middle aged, having a teenage target reader probably isn't going to give you the results you wish. What you are looking for are the characteristics your target reader must have in order to be interested in your subject.
Now that you've adjusted the target reader until they are interested in your subject, you need to verify that they exist. After all a book specifically for people 7 foot and over may sell a copy to everyone in that demographic but it still won't be a best seller.
Now ask yourself two questions. "What one problem can my target reader not ignore?" And "How can my subject solve that problem for them?" Answer those questions truthfully and you'll have a best seller.
HOW TO BECOME AN AUTHOR
There are numerous books, articles and seminars available to help you become an author. After all there can be big money in being an author. Just ask Stephen King or Tom Clancy. No matter what type of e-book writing you intend to do, whether it is fiction, non-fiction, technical, self-help, philosophical or just your autobiography, you'll need to get your point across. You need to be able to express in words what you're thinking so that other can share your thoughts.
You can take a writing class, seminar or read a book on how to write effectively. Knowing how to write however is not one of the essentials of e-book writing. Are you puzzled yet? How many of the millions of e-books out there do you think were actually written by the person who is actually selling it? 100%, 75%, 50% or less? There is no way to tell for sure but I would wager that perhaps in the beginning of e-book marketing it was close to 100%. Now I would venture to say that maybe half of all e-books written are commissioned works. Outsourcing e-book writing has become big business. I've even contemplated it from time to time! The reason is that the world has shrunk because of the internet. You can have someone from any part of the world work for you. Just think, you can be like Nike and employ the cheapest labor around the globe so you can have the biggest profits.
You can take a writing class, seminar or read a book on how to write effectively. Knowing how to write however is not one of the essentials of e-book writing. Are you puzzled yet? How many of the millions of e-books out there do you think were actually written by the person who is actually selling it? 100%, 75%, 50% or less? There is no way to tell for sure but I would wager that perhaps in the beginning of e-book marketing it was close to 100%. Now I would venture to say that maybe half of all e-books written are commissioned works. Outsourcing e-book writing has become big business. I've even contemplated it from time to time! The reason is that the world has shrunk because of the internet. You can have someone from any part of the world work for you. Just think, you can be like Nike and employ the cheapest labor around the globe so you can have the biggest profits.
HOW TO WRITE E-BOOKS
I your effort to write e-book try to offer your target audience exactly what they are looking for. Write about the topics they love, offer in-depth information, and make your e-books easy to understand. If you give these people exactly what they are looking for, they are most likely to return the favor by buying your e-books.
Write what you know. The problem with other e-book writers is that they try to conquer all niches. They write about topics even if they don't know them very well. The problem in going this route is that it can hurt your online reputation. If you are unable to offer your readers with great content, they are most likely to get the word out. This can discourage your other prospective buyers to do business with you.
It's very important that you have exceptional writing skills to make it big in this endeavor. You must be comfortable putting your ideas into writing and you must have the capability to share information using as few words as possible. If you think you need to improve your writing skills to better serve your audience, I recommend that you read relevant resources to get writing tips and take advantage of writing seminars.
I hope you know what e-book means, keep visiting.
Write what you know. The problem with other e-book writers is that they try to conquer all niches. They write about topics even if they don't know them very well. The problem in going this route is that it can hurt your online reputation. If you are unable to offer your readers with great content, they are most likely to get the word out. This can discourage your other prospective buyers to do business with you.
It's very important that you have exceptional writing skills to make it big in this endeavor. You must be comfortable putting your ideas into writing and you must have the capability to share information using as few words as possible. If you think you need to improve your writing skills to better serve your audience, I recommend that you read relevant resources to get writing tips and take advantage of writing seminars.
I hope you know what e-book means, keep visiting.
CONTEMPORARY ERA
The demands of the British and Foreign Bible Society (founded 1804), the American Bible Society (founded 1816), and other non-denominational publishers for enormously large and impossibly inexpensive runs of texts led to numerous innovations. The introduction of steam printing presses a little before 1820, closely followed by new steam paper mills, constituted the two most major innovations. Together, they caused book prices to drop and the number of books to increase considerably. Numerous bibliographic features, like the positioning and formulation of titles and subtitles, were also affected by this new production method. New types of documents appeared later in the nineteenth century: photography, sound recording and film.
Typewriters and eventually desktop publishing let people print and put together their own documents, using staplers, ring binders, etc.
A series of new developments occurred in the 1990s. The spread of digital multimedia, which encodes texts, images, animations, and sounds in a unique and simple form is a novel development. Hypertext further improved access to information. Finally, the internet lowered production and distribution costs, as did printing at the end of the Middle Ages.
LIST OF NOTABLE MODERN INNOVATORS
§ Your free BOOK DOWNLOAD HERE . 1455: The Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed with movable metal type by Johannes Gutenberg.§ c. 1475: Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye was the first book printed in the English language
§ 1476: Grammatica Graeca, sive compendium octo orationis partium, probably the first book entirely in Greek by Constantine Lascaris
§ 1477: The first printed edition of the Geographia, probably in 1477 in Bologna
§ 1485: De Re Aedificatoria, the first printed book on architecture
§ 1488: Missale Aboense was the first book printed for Finland
§ 1494: Oktoih was the first printed Slavic Cyrillic book.
§ 1495: The first printed book in Danish
§ 1495: The first printed book in Swedish
§ 1499: Catholicon, Breton-French-Latin dictionary, first printed trilingual dictionary, first Breton book, first French dictionary
§ 1501: Harmonice Musices Odhecaton, printed by Ottaviano Petrucci, is the first book of sheet music printed from movable type.
§ 1502: "Aldus Manutius" printed the first portable Octavos, also inventing and using italic type.
§ 1511: Hieromonk Makarije printed the first books in Wallachia (in Slavonic)
§ 1513: Hortulus Animae, polonice believed to be the first book printed in the Polish language.
§ 1516: A reprint of the Lisbon edition of the Sefer Aburdraham is printed in Morocco , the first book printed in Africa .
§ 1517: Psalter, first book printed in the Old Belarusian language by Francysk Skaryna on 6 August 1517
§ 1541: Bovo-Bukh was the first non-religious book to be printed in Yiddish
§ 1545: Linguae Vasconum Primitiae was the first book printed in Basque
§ 1547: Martynas Mažvydas compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book The Simple Words of Catechism
§ 1550: Abecedarium was the first printed book in the Slovene language, printed by Primož Trubar.
§ 1561: The first printed books in the Romanian language, Tetraevanghelul and Întrebare creştinească (also known as Catehismul) are printed by Coresi in Braşov
§ 1564: the first book in Irish was printed in Edinburgh , a translation of John Knox's 'Liturgy' by John Carswell, Bishop of the Hebrides .
§ 1564: the first dated Russian book, Apostol, printed by Ivan Fyodorov
§ 1568: the first book in Irish to be printed in Ireland
§ 1577: Lekah Tov, a commentary on the Book of Esther, was the first book printed in the land of Israel
§ 1581: Ostrog Bible, first complete printed edition of the Bible in Old Church Slavonic
§ 1593: Doctrina Christiana was the first book printed in the Philippines
§ 1629: Nikoloz Cholokashvili helped to publish a Georgian dictionary, the first printed book in Georgian
§ 1640: The Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in North America
§ 1651: Abagar - Filip Stanislavov, first printed book in modern Bulgarian
§ 1678-1703: Hortus Malabaricus included the first instance of Malayalam types being used for printing
§ 1798: The first printed book in Ossetic
§ 1802: New South Wales General Standing Orders was the first book printed in Australia
§ 1909: Nisthananda Bajracharya authored and printed the first printed book in Nepal Bhasa called Ek Binshati Pragyaparmita
TRANSFORMATION FROM THE LITERARY EDITION
Your free book DOWNLOAD HERE
The revival of cities in Europe Europe
Saint Louis
Europe China Spain
January 1, 15 01, are called incurables.
The revival of cities in Europe Europe
Friday, September 24, 2010
FINAL HISTORY AND CULTURE ON BOOKS
free Download for youThe authors of Antiquity had no rights concerning their published works; there were neither authors' nor publishing rights. Anyone could have a text recopied, and even alter its contents. Scribes earned money and authors earned mostly glory, unless a patron provided cash; a book made its author immortal. This followed the traditional conception of the culture: an author stuck to several models, which he imitated and attempted to improve. The status of the author was not regarded as absolutely personal.
From a political and religious point of view, books were censored very early: the works of Pytagoras were burned because he was a proponent of agnosticism and argued that one could know whether or not the gods existed. Generally, cultural conflicts led to important periods of book destruction: in 303, the emperor Diocletian ordered the burning of Christian texts. Some Christians later burned libraries, and especially heretical or non-canonical Christian texts. These practices are found throughout human history but have ended in many nations today. A few nations today still greatly censor and even burn books.
But there also exists a less visible but nonetheless effective form of censorship when books are reserved for the elite; the book was not originally a medium for expressive liberty. It may serve to confirm the values of a political system, as during the reign of the emperor Augustus, who skillfully surrounded himself with great authors. This is a good ancient example of the control of the media by a political power. More importantly, private censorship of books has occurred and continues today. What books one chooses to privately read, to destroy, to throw away, to not sell, and what to pass along to their children involves choosing some books over others. Private individuals can and do censor themselves and others, with little or no support and approval from the governing bodies of their time.
Proliferation and conservation of books in Greece
Little information concerning books in Ancient Greece survives. Several vases (Sixth century BC and fifth century BC) bear images of volumina. There was undoubtedly no extensive trade in books, but there existed several sites devoted to the sale of books.
The spread of books, and attention to their cataloging and conservation, as well as literary criticism developed during the Hellenistic period with the creation of large libraries in response to the desire for knowledge exemplified by Aristotle. These libraries were undoubtedly also built as demonstrations of political prestige:
§ The Library of Alexandria Egypt
§ The Library at Pergamon, founded by Attalus I; it contained 200,000 volumes which were moved to the Serapeion by Mark Antony and Cleopatra, after the destruction of the Museion. The Serapeion was partially destroyed in 391, and the last books disappeared in 641 CE following the Arab conquest.
§ The Library at Athens , the Ptolemaion, which gained importance following the destruction of the Library at Alexandria
§ The Library at Rhodes
§ The Library at Antioch
The libraries had copyist workshops, and the general organisation of books allowed for the following:
§ Conservation of an example of each text
§ Translation (the Septuagint Bible, for example)
§ Literary criticisms in order to establish reference texts for the copy (example : The Iliad and The Odyssey)
§ A catalog of books The copy itself, which allowed books to be disseminated
Book production in Rome
Book production developed in Rome
This diffusion primarily concerned circles of literary individuals. Atticus was the editor of his friend Cicero. However, the book business progressively extended itself through the Roman Empire; for example, there were bookstores in Lyon Spain Africa
Libraries were private or created at the behest of an individual. Julius Caesar, for example, wanted to establish one in Rome
In the year 377, there were 28 libraries in Rome
Paper
Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste.
While paper used for wrapping and padding was used in China China
Middle Ages
By the end of antiquity, between the second century and fourth century, the codex had replaced the scroll. The book was no longer a continuous roll, but a collection of sheets attached at the back. It became possible to access a precise point in the text directly. The codex is equally easy to rest on a table, which permits the reader to take notes while he or she is reading. The codex form improved with the separation of words, capital letters, and punctuation, which permitted silent reading. Tables of contents and indices facilitated direct access to information. This form was so effective that it is still the standard book form, over 1500 years after its appearance.
Paper would progressively replace parchment. Cheaper to produce, it allowed a greater diffusion of books.
Books in monasteries
A number of Christian books were destroyed at the order of Diocletian in 304 AD. During the turbulent periods of the invasions, it was the monasteries that conserved religious texts and certain works of Antiquity for the West. But there would also be important copying centers in Byzantium
The role of monasteries in the conservation of books is not without some ambiguity:
§ Reading
However, the conservation of books was not exclusively in order to preserve ancient culture; it was especially relevant to understanding religious
texts with the aid of ancient knowledge. Some works were never recopied, having been judged too dangerous for the monks. Morever, in need of blank media, the monks scraped off manuscripts, thereby destroying ancient works. The transmission of knowledge was centered primarily on sacred texts
Copying and conserving books
An author portrait of Jean Miélot writing his compilation of the Miracles of Our Lady, one of his many popular works.
Despite this ambiguity, monasteries in the West and the Eastern Empire permitted the conservation of a certain number of secular texts, and several libraries were created: for example,Cassiodorus ('Vivarum' in Calabro, around 550), or Constantine I in Constantinople. There were several libraries, but the survival of books often depended on political battles and ideologies, which sometimes entailed massive destruction of books or difficulties in production (for example, the distribution of books during the Iconoclasm between 730 and 842). A long list of very old and surviving libraries that now form part of the Vatican Archives can be found in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
The scriptorium
The scriptorium was the workroom of monk copyists; here, books were copied, decorated, rebound, and conserved. The armarius directed the work and played the role of librarian.
The role of the copyist was multifaceted: for example, thanks to their work, texts circulated from one monastery to another. Copies also allowed monks to learn texts and to perfect their religious education. The relationship with the book thus defined itself according to an intellectual relationship with God. But if these copies were sometimes made for the monks themselves, there were also copies made on demand.
The task of copying itself had several phases: the preparation of the manuscript in the form of notebooks once the work was complete, the presentation of pages, the copying itself, revision, correction of errors, decoration, and binding. The book therefore required a variety of competencies, which often made a manuscript a collective effort.
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