Hartmut Rosa points out that there is a close relationship between these common current experiences—of “social acceleration,” of time being somehow out of joint, of having access only to a “situational” conduct of life—and anxiety and depression. The feeling of being at a “frenetic standstill” is highly characteristic of the depressed person. I do not wish to suggest that reading old books is a cure for depression; but the development of personal density, to which reading old books can be a vital contribution, just might be a hedge against depressive inclinations, might provide—we will see
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