Glad you’re building a community here on Substack. Once Elon gave the green light for porn to run ramped on his platform I had to delete my account. Not many places to go on the internet anymore who want to safeguard their soul. Godspeed!
I like the notion that the work of culture is to delay the inevitable. Your theme, that repositories of knowledge are fragile, is accurate. Many in our time believe that digital repositories have solved the problem, but of course they haven't. If humanity ever loses the electricity supply, all that knowledge will be gone in a flash.
I am reminded of a documentary program I was watching at the turn of the century. It said that Cambodia was hiring and training librarians to run libraries. It said it had to because the Khmer Rouge had killed all 50 librarians in the country in 1975.
Great to see you move to Substack, which I also have been drawn to quite recently. Looking forward to read more here. (I'm afraid many newsletters lie unread in my inbox, for all time).
Love your presentations. Have you done one already on Rembrandt. Rudolf Steiner said Rembrandt was an initiate. He was definitely the Master of Light and Darkness.
Excellent idea, since I signed up for Twitter a few months ago (to read), your postings were always among my weekly highlights. Thanks for doing this!
By way of returning the favour, you might want to check out out my own little Substack about some 40K vintage picture postcards my grandfather collected during the Cold War, which, incidentally, feature a few specimen from Iraq before Ba'ath rule this week:
Thank you for the poignant reminder of the fleetingness of knowledge. I wonder what will become of the digital texts of today. Will they continue to be accessible in future centuries?
It’s baffling that Nalanda University often gets overlooked when discussing the greatest libraries in history. Its destruction wasn’t just the loss of a library—it was the obliteration of a civilization’s intellectual heart.
Founded in the 5th century CE, India, Nalanda was one of the world’s first residential universities, centuries before institutions like Oxford or Bologna existed. It attracted students and scholars from across Asia—Tibet, China, Korea, and even Persia—creating a global hub for learning. Subjects ranged from philosophy, astronomy, medicine, linguistics, to advanced mathematics, making it a pioneer in interdisciplinary education.
Nalanda’s library, known as Dharmaganja, housed over 9 million manuscripts, covering not just religious texts, but also treatises on science, medicine, logic, and art. The university was a beacon of knowledge, shaping thought and culture across the ancient world for over 700 years. Travellers like Xuanzang and Al Beruni have written a lot about Nalanda in their travelogues.
A Turkic invader names Bakhtiyar Khilji burned it down in 1193 AD, the loss was immeasurable. Thousands of monks were slaughtered, and the university’s vast libraries—holding over 9 million manuscripts—were set on fire. The collection was so immense that it supposedly burned for three months straight.
Glad you’re building a community here on Substack. Once Elon gave the green light for porn to run ramped on his platform I had to delete my account. Not many places to go on the internet anymore who want to safeguard their soul. Godspeed!
I know this is a few months later, but I never accidentally hit any porn on X. There might be, but I myself never stumbled upon it.
Wait, Elon really gave the green light for porn on X? 😳
Yes.
https://www.prweek.com/article/1875339/x-officially-allows-consensually-produced-adult-content
*sigh* unzips pants.
Just kidding, I already have a hot girlfriend.
I like the notion that the work of culture is to delay the inevitable. Your theme, that repositories of knowledge are fragile, is accurate. Many in our time believe that digital repositories have solved the problem, but of course they haven't. If humanity ever loses the electricity supply, all that knowledge will be gone in a flash.
I'm so glad you're here I was thinking of suggesting you join. Thank you.
Thanks John — excited to be here.
Excellent ideas. I look forward to reading everything you put out.
Leaning forward, all the way!
Thanks Woody! 🫡
I am reminded of a documentary program I was watching at the turn of the century. It said that Cambodia was hiring and training librarians to run libraries. It said it had to because the Khmer Rouge had killed all 50 librarians in the country in 1975.
Great to see you move to Substack, which I also have been drawn to quite recently. Looking forward to read more here. (I'm afraid many newsletters lie unread in my inbox, for all time).
Welcome to Substack, Kris!
Love your presentations. Have you done one already on Rembrandt. Rudolf Steiner said Rembrandt was an initiate. He was definitely the Master of Light and Darkness.
Excellent idea, since I signed up for Twitter a few months ago (to read), your postings were always among my weekly highlights. Thanks for doing this!
By way of returning the favour, you might want to check out out my own little Substack about some 40K vintage picture postcards my grandfather collected during the Cold War, which, incidentally, feature a few specimen from Iraq before Ba'ath rule this week:
https://espc.substack.com
I'm very much looking forward to this!
Thank you for the poignant reminder of the fleetingness of knowledge. I wonder what will become of the digital texts of today. Will they continue to be accessible in future centuries?
Should have included Nalanda too ,which was the hub of knowledge for scholars from South Asia, East Asia and South East Asia
Worthy mention!
Thank you for wonderful insights and the gorgeous art you bring to light.
Enough knowledge was lost to history so as to repeat losing said knowledge to history.
Prise the Lord all
You didn't mention Nalanda and Taxila uni, just search Nalanda and Taxila burnt on the internet
What an enjoyable read! It does make me wonder what of today's 'libraries' we will be leaving to be discovered 2000 years from now.
It’s baffling that Nalanda University often gets overlooked when discussing the greatest libraries in history. Its destruction wasn’t just the loss of a library—it was the obliteration of a civilization’s intellectual heart.
Founded in the 5th century CE, India, Nalanda was one of the world’s first residential universities, centuries before institutions like Oxford or Bologna existed. It attracted students and scholars from across Asia—Tibet, China, Korea, and even Persia—creating a global hub for learning. Subjects ranged from philosophy, astronomy, medicine, linguistics, to advanced mathematics, making it a pioneer in interdisciplinary education.
Nalanda’s library, known as Dharmaganja, housed over 9 million manuscripts, covering not just religious texts, but also treatises on science, medicine, logic, and art. The university was a beacon of knowledge, shaping thought and culture across the ancient world for over 700 years. Travellers like Xuanzang and Al Beruni have written a lot about Nalanda in their travelogues.
A Turkic invader names Bakhtiyar Khilji burned it down in 1193 AD, the loss was immeasurable. Thousands of monks were slaughtered, and the university’s vast libraries—holding over 9 million manuscripts—were set on fire. The collection was so immense that it supposedly burned for three months straight.
I didn't know about this library in India; but it certainly makes sense that a great library existed there, especially during that epoch.