“But then,” I said, “what is the use of hiding books, if from the books not hidden you can arrive at the concealed ones?” “Over the centuries it is no use at all. In a space of years or days it has some use. You see, in fact, how bewildered we are.” “And is a library, then, an instrument not for distributing the truth but for delaying its appearance?” I asked, dumbfounded. “Not always and not necessarily. In this case it is.”
