"On some shelf in some hexagon, it was argued, there must exist a book that is the cipher and perfect compendium of all other books, and some librarian must have examined that book; this librarian is analogous to a god. In the language of this zone there are still vestiges of the sect that worshipped that distant librarian. Many have gone in search of Him. For a hundred years, men beat every possible path—and every path in vain. How was one to locate the idolized secret hexagon that sheltered Him? Someone proposed searching by regression: To locate book A, first consult book B, which tells where book A can be found; to locate book B, first consult book C, and so on, to infinity..."
— Jorge Luis Borges, from "The Library of Babel," in Collected Fictions, trans. Andrew Hurley
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"You will follow the book, whose every page is an abyss where the wing shines with the name."
— Edmond Jabès, from From the Book to the Book, trans. Rosmarie Waldrop
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"There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry—
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll—
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul—"
— Emily Dickinson, "[There is no Frigate like a Book]"
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