ABSTRACT
Bibliophobia, as may be deduced from the word itself, is “the fear of books.” It is a disease which may be found among the most literate of peoples, and at the same time it may be discovered among those who know nothing of books at all. Indeed, there is to be found a most virulent form of it among those who have never read a book, since among people who suffer from this unfortunate lack of experience there are many who look upon the printed page as an instrument of the blackest of black magic. A paradox may be seen in the fact that the disease of bibliophobia takes on an equally violent face among those who have learned to recognize the power of books to disturb men’s minds, and provoke them to creative thought. The disease is a popular disease, in many senses of that word. It is extremely popular in that it is prevalent among such a high proportion of the population. It is popular, too, in the sense that it is a disease thought fashionable among certain types of intellectuals, as I will demonstrate, to decry the value of books. But let us look at some of the aspects of the disease in such a way as to make clear in our own minds the dangers of its ravages.
