Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Other people's arguments preserved on my bookshelf

Over the years we've bought a number of second hand books with various messages written in them. I had a small cull of the shelves recently and discovered this gem of an interpersonal conflict on the frontispiece of a book by CS Lewis.



"The owner hastens to add that this book was not bought by choice, but rather that is was forced upon him in a most Unchristian manner by [pen colour changes] The Reverend Skene Catling who in an even more unchristian manner, refused to sign.
October 1953."

I found that funny and can imagine the Reverend reading the snarky comment and then telling his friend where to step off when his friend asked him to sign. It's doubly ironic that it's in a book called 'Christian Behaviour'.

But that's not all. On the back dust jacket was a doodle (of a film projector I think) and this argument recorded for posterity. 


"This book is based on Christian principles though very often they are nympholeptic ideals. The Christian religion is very "Castles in the air-ish" in it's origin -"

[Retort] "Absolute bunk old man!"

I had to look up nympholeptic. It means being in a passionate mystical state. I can't see me using it very often in day-to-day conversation. 

I've kept this book. The accidental comedy of the inscriptions saved it from the cull. 

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