7:22, i wonder if once could introduce alex and his general's squad the cities and languages and technology and science (excluding time travel and adjacent sciences), lying to them telling them theyd be able to attempt conquest... I wonder what our civilizations section would look like. Ya know, and the rest of the library too 😅
@@darkclownKellenIs that the same David Gold from Woods of Ypres? :o I've never got super into them, I just know he was in Thrawsunblat before he passed bc I love them. Either way you just reminded me, I should check em out :)
Dr Sledge, I hope that you know that your channel is a Library of Alexandria all on its own. The whims of the algorithm may be fickle, but you provide the public with a wealth of information that we may never have had access to otherwise.
The scroll demonstration was fascinating. I know scrolls were and are a thing, but seeing one actually rolled and unrolled like that gives me an appreciation for the difficulty of using and storing scrolls. Thanks.
The scoll was one of the cooler things that I have seen on UA-cam. I have had friends from art school who have handmade their own paper and books. Various shapes of materials to display drawings and prints. Friends aquaintances who have been librarians or worked in college libraries.
Recognizing that there were just a handful of these repositories, and that any visitor to Alexandria’s library would be awestruck by the sheer volume of scrolls and the range of subjects and variety of authors attached. For the anecdotal evidence to quote a figure ten times larger is no surprise at all.
To me, the dream of the Library of Alexandria is very much alive in torrenting communities, which both make knowledge and culture freely accessible and more pervasive to destruction through their dispersion in a network of enthusiasts. The raid that killed What.cd, in my opinion, is a tragedy comparable to the fires that consumed so many ancient works. Thankfully, nowadays, rebuilding those virtual institutions is much more possible than it was to those ancient scholars.
This video makes an excellent point about access to scholarship and knowledge more generally. Most people today would consider access to knowledge via libraries, unicentres of learning and the internet as being axiomatic. However, I'm sure the old philosophers who enjoyed browsing whatever scrolls were held at Alexandria in its heyday probably thought exactly the same thing, and never considered for a moment that there would come a time when it was no longer available. Access to knowledge is preserved only as long as we make the effort to preserve it. Great video!
The algorithm as a demiurge is such a good metaphor for a corporate internet. It really is a trap, like the material world to gnostics, which creates a world of opportunities while limiting possibilities overall. The creation of illusions of competition and an obfuscation of shared person-hood and genuine community not filtered through an overbearing all-seeing eye.
“The pretention of neutrality is often the velvet glove hiding the iron fist” BARS! BARS! BARS! Really though, you come out with some extremely insightful quotes out the blue! (I’m stealing them)
I have small notebook where I record random quotes as I remember or run across them. By authors ancient to modern, and by those that are well known or obscure, and a few anonymous. This quote will go into my notebook.
This is an amazing video. When I was a kid, I wished I could travel back in time to when the library was in it's heyday. Little did I know that my local university probably had more texts in Ancient Greek than the Great Library ever did. I also want to reiterate your recommendation of Al Muqaddimah and also recommend Premodernist's video on this topic.
Alexandria for sure didn't have as many books in ancient Greek as your local library, but it had a million more scrolls and tablets indulged with writings beyond your imagination that just do not exist anymore but in the wisdom of a few disciples!
For me it was Sagan's Cosmos that made me want to visit the Serapeum. The visualizations in the original Cosmos really was inspiring. I wonder if Dr. Justin grew up on those like I did.
@@ponyoteSagan gave me the idea it was more than it probably was. The idea we would be colonizing space if only we had the lost knowledge stuck with me for years.
@Bildgesmythe it haunts me to this day. If Carl was still with us, I can't help but think he would be so dang mad. We must carry on in his stead, to save the world. Sorry this got a bit political.
I find it sad that modern libraries are being defunded and stripped of "controversial " books. I can only hope that the Internet will save banned books and kids will read them. I have such great memories of wandering through the library and choosing books, reading in the quiet. Save our modern libraries! Bring your kids to them.
Unfortunately Western governments are bringing in bills to stop the spread of misinformation, basically anything that doesn’t follow the leftist narrative and threatens the power of the WEF
I'm loving seeing how much more comfortable your presentation has become. The cuts/edits have decreased and the flow of the presentation seems more natural. Great video!
Been a fan for about a year now and this has to be one of your best videos yet. Such a sobering look at one of my favorite topics in history, thank you Dr. Sledge!
The sad withering of The Library echoing that of academic institutions (especially in arts and humanities) is... Well something that more people need to hear. The Library looms large in popular imagination as a symbol for civilization itself, & to know that it is not the fires of war but the much more insidious fire of apathy that burns our libraries now...
Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library Line up to the mind cemetery now What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin' They don't gotta burn the books they just remove 'em While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells Rally 'round the family, pockets full of shells - ancient wisdom
@@TheEsotericaChannel it's my second watch of this video months after my first watch, and I just noticed this reply...your cultural touchstones are so similar to mine it's eerie sometimes lmao from D&D to black metal to RATM and beyond, to say nothing of your philosophical and political touchstones that we share
Thank you for that episode. I had no idea there was no actual archaeological evidence of the library! The computation of how many rolls or volumes could have existed was really illuminating too. We need facts!
This is by far my favorite esoterica episode thus far. I could feel the passion in your conclusion about rejecting false piety and appreciating the textual miracles that have survived the ravages of time. Really, really effective.
Ok but the way your demeanor brightened when you pulled out the scroll you copied was the highlight of this whole episode. And I think its because I can hear that as an echo of how I talk when telling people about my spinning wheel (shes 130 years old and spins better than some modern ones.) because of that like, excited pride and joy of "Look!!!! Thing!!! It makes me happy and I want to share it with you!" This comment was sponsored by Autism™
Applause. Love the opening and the ending. Yes, whenever we have a vacuum of knowledge we always fill it up with demons. That's why we value this channel ("educational institution") so much.
@@TheEsotericaChannel what is that you don't like about post-structuralism? And what kind of "string theory" are you referring to? I'd really wish to know. Thank you, have a good day.
Thanks for challenging my previous perceptions on the Library of Alexandria. Also, wonderful childhood memories were unlocked. I'm so glad my dad was a reader. He took me and my little brother to our local library twice a month. We would go to the kid's section while he would go to the sections he liked. We would each get as many books as we could carry out. My dad would go through a stack of books every couple of weeks then we'd go back for more. I so remember that library/old book fragrance and the wonderful memories of browsing the stacks for our own gems.I'm old enough to remember an actual card catalog. I just turned 60 and I still use my local library for everything from best selling ebooks to the genealogy research and local history sections. I'm fortunate to live in a place where our local libraries are well-funded, well-used and well-loved.
Thank you for showing your Aristotle scroll--not only because it gives me an idea of some of the calligraphic work you've produced, but because unrolling the papyrus was turning your video into an ASMR video...but in a good way, as I love the sound of literary media! ;) I have written smaller bits of papyrus, and at one point I had a small scroll that I wrote out a hymn on (in Latin), and that took a while, and was nowhere near the quality of what you showed here...but nonetheless, it gave me an idea of the kind of work the ancient scribes did. I wish I still had that scroll...I gave it to a former friend, and I regret it now (not only because the friendship went sour!).
I just want to say: you rule. Thank you for all your hard work. Your content is entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking. You deserve a lot of credit. Thanks again, and: Peace!
Dr. Sledge, you are a brilliant light blazing in a bleak wilderness! Bob the Dread Pirate joins his voice to the chorus of those who are grateful for your penetrating insight, your fair-minded and non-prejudicial analysis, and your noncompromising commitment to meticulous research.
Thanks for another great video 💙 As a kid, I used to spend most of my summer and every weekend at my little local library and it opened up so many new worlds to me. I learned much more there than I think I ever could have at the library of Alexandria (mostly because, as a female and a commoner, they probably wouldn't have let me past the threshold at Alexandria lol).
The algorithm as Demi Urge, well put, I liked that big time! (Well, I do mostly like everything I watch on Your channel) The new library in Alexandria seam to look quite nice (understatment), drawn by Snøhetta (which in Norway we to view as a Norwegian firm) which also has designed the new Opera in Oslo (Norway), which is verry much liked by most, particularly considering its an opera house. :-) Pardon... just some rambelings from the north... Thanks for the channel! Love it much!
that sign off was extremely pungent and struck a string in my core. i will try to preserve things like these, even if its just sharing your video around. thank you very much Dr Sledge
I love your call to action in appreciation of the existing current libraries, and the amazing existence of historical writings. I truly enjoy your channel!
Your words in this video carried a different weight than other videos! Very inspiring! Sparked my creativity and challenged me to be appreciative. Inspiring. Thank you.
Wow, once again you dazzle me with your calligraphy skills. Man, you go dense - I love it. Ink on the page probably weighs more than the papyrus itself. I'm working on a Tehilim scroll in my own Hebrew southpaw fist, so I feel you!
Thank you sooo much!! I had no idea to be honest that there wasn't much historical evidence for Alexandria or that basically what I thought of its history is myth. I was really happy to hear you mention Ashurbanipal, as well. Books, libraries, writing and languages are all very very dear to me. Who knows maybe we will find more lost works in places like Herculaneum, especially as our technology grows to try and recover them.
Thank you Dr. Sledge! I so appreciate what you have to share and you always have me rolling in laughter!!! Which is the best way to learn! The straight up no bs attitude, the witty, dry, like dad jokes almost... vibes bro!!! 😃🤣
So I no longer need to experience anguish every time the subject comes up? Sweet! On the flip side, I can no longer justify dreams of ancient halls of wisdom. They are so much more romantic than googling something on my phone.
I wouldnt say that "dreams of halls of ancient wisdom" are unwarranted. How many books do you own? I dont anywhere near the 40,000 guestimate (rather than the mythical 400,000) 40,000 volumes is still plenty enough material to give you a labrynth of halls of wisdom. And these would be the sacred texts of the region and surrounding regions...I dont think his reality based myth busting has harmed the glory of the once was library..Just, the more whimsical folks who thought 1000 books on levitation existed but got burned, they should probably let reality set it. As he said, only one of Artistotles manuscripts survived, so in all likelyhood, much that was at the Alexandrian library burned away forever. Not all of it, certainly there were scholars, copying, adding to collections near and afar. But there was certainly some real loss. 40,000 papyrus scrolls is not a miniscule amount.
Honestly, if you've never gone into a university's research library and just wandered around a bit, you're missing out. Even better if you can go into different libraries that serve different disciplines.
Dr. Sledge, I am a great admirer of this channel and found this video especially touching-your call to cherish what we have, and to recognize the sheer dumb luck that allowed one manuscript of Aristotle to survive, was as moving as anything I’ve seen here (and I intend a great compliment-I love what you do here). Something of that feeling of wonder fills me whenever I wander the stacks at my university library. Also, we have a lot of the same books (like you, I have trouble figuring out where to put mine)-your library tour was great fun. As an English Renaissance scholar, I’d love to see what you think of the demonology and angelology of Milton, but I’m also eagerly awaiting more on Paracelsus, Ficino, and Bruno. And Cusanus, if the mood strikes you. But above all, I want to thank you for enlarging my knowledge of arcana in more ways than you can know. I suppose that I just really have no choice but to become a patron!
Anyone who calls the UA-cam Algorithm "a Demiurge" deserves a subscription. In fact, the whole "the Demiurge got in the way of God's creation and made it imperfect" narrative fits really well with the process of enshittification created by Cory Doctorow to explain the inevitable decay of online services.
Very soothing and highly educational listening as I do my makeup this morning, as always! Up till today, I did think the Library of Alexandria was a real thing that was destroyed in one singular event, but thanks to this lovely video of yours and a video by UA-cam historian Kaz Rowe, I feel much more enlightened. Everything else that surrounded the myth that you cited here was incredibly fascinating! You’re one of the best UA-camrs out there. Keep it up! 🥰
I love the balanced presentation on this topic. There's such hype around Alexandria and not (too) much information available. I'm grateful especially for the explanation on the scrolls and the origins of the library.
Oh I love this further delving into Libraries before and beyond the famous Alexandria! I had no inkling of or nor given full thought to the more gradual perhaps disrepair or disruption of maintenance of splendor! Spoilers follow: Yeah, Hellenization of Indian Buddhist art is fascinating! 🎉 and this brings some learning for me on Jewish scrolls 📜 to what we know on the surface of books in the Jewish Bible collective. I love this inclusion of passage from Asclepius. It's edifying and recalls the draw of mystery. Yeah, Ptolemy. How fascinating this convergence of Greco-Egyptian and Judaic milieu! 🎉 whoa, Homer! Etymology, even! The relevant calculations is an awesome segment of deduction by estimation! 📜 📜 ≠ 📚 Excellent firsthand informal surveying, Justin Sledge! So you're saying there's a chance...that the truth is (scrolls are) out there! By calligraphy! How does the ink stay?? Nice nod to that flight of fancy 🎉 there! Is lingua franca anything to do with French or just common, as in frankly speaking? This is its own essential course in attaining a degree in Library keeping and records keeping! Yep, County Library! 🔥 🔥 🪜 📚 📜 📜 📜 🎻! The mass appeal power of developed myths over time prompt seeking and unveiling of actual verifiable history, like the more historically accessible battle of Thermopylae amped up and further mythologized in the entertaining jingoistic 300. Yeah, Cleopatra was a Ptolemy! Kara Cooney book, I believe! Oh wait, not egyptology. Stacy Schiff tome! 🎉 so the 🔥 perhaps increased its legend right when it was declining in prestige or maintenance? 🤔 will do check out link! Wonderful tie in to and perspective on Nag Hammadi! SPOILER: A lost Aramaic gospel?? 🎉 😮 (its own episode or short, perhaps?) 🎉 Thank you for underwriting inspiration! Including my needed hopefully sooner patronage Esoterica! 🎉 Thank you, Dr Justin Sledge for this learning that should be required to be an archivist librarian! 📚
And what an impactful takeaway epic conclusion, Dr Justin Sledge! So much fascinating content always flies beyond my current capacity for actual comprehension like your mention of string theory, which I could sit and absorb endlessly and not fully comprehend without a concerted effort of curriculum. And yet, I sat through once again fully to immerse in the video and it still draws inspiration that's so resonant for whatever reason, even as there are breathtaking cosmic 🌌 content in Esoterica alone that blows my mind! 🎉 🌌 I think it's that the ancients here aren't just set apart like the heroic almost demigod-like cast of the Illiad but very much peoples who like reading and appreciate the value and draw of libraries, like the Stoics. Maybe that's why the fictional Gladiator is my favorite modern day epic recreation tale because it has at its core story, Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher Stoic emperor, who liked to read and ponder, amidst his larger than life rule of empire albeit Roman. And that set me on a path itself. 🎉 The story of Alexandria it seems is the ongoing story of written history itself and its preservation. Some is lost to time, with only occasional whispers of invitation to wonder, and some remain, rare and founding fragments of a whole school of thought, resonating across the ages. 🎉 📜 📜 📚 ✍️ 📖!!
I just wanted to remind people that most countries maintain a national library now. The Library of Congress is massive and open to the public and the British Library is one of the largest in the world though only open to residents with a reader's permit in person. They both provide online access to alot of media as well. These 2 are only examples for national ones but many universities also have public collections as well that you can arrange access to.
@@mellie4174 All knowledge takes some form of sacrifice. But as I pointed out there are online portals to alot of it. It is cheaper to access knowledge now than ever before and places like thrift books have large selections of academic and historical stuff and alot of translations. Besides even a plane or bus ticket to a national library is far easier than a multi month life threatening land and sea journey around the Mediterranean.
You have brought me to tears! Your words are GOLDEN and should be emblazoned upon every library in America for sure, but let's fantasize... the world. Thank you and for what it's worth, I love your teachings!
Amazing copy of Aristotle's Metaphysics! As a Sanskrit PhD, I copied out the first chapter of Prajñāpāramitā in Eight Thousand Lines. Ancient books were huge investments of time and materials, and took up a lot of space.
Your words Sir Sledge are a solace in the psychological and spiritual chaos, due to the propaganda, falsehood and conspiracies of modern world. Your work is more than what you think, and as humans are not immortal what we create outlives us and your influence will surely be as absurd and yet beautiful, as perplexing yet pure as nature. May you be bestowed with what you desire and more with that an easy mind.
Thank you so much for this video, Dr Sledge! I had no idea that the Library of Alexandria had been much smaller than I was led to believe. Videos like this are wonderful for better understanding the ancient world, and that understanding makes our world even larger.
so great to receive this information - its certainly a counter-weight to many tales of what the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA was all about... and the manner of its demise. There is great energy in exposing - NEW and FRESH - History. shhhh - amazing..!!
I want to thank you, not just for your awesome lectures but your links; from one of them, I discovered Kallice and they certainly did awaken my soul, rather startlingly but nevertheless, excellent music. You are also excellent 💗😈 As for libraries, my local library is not so well endowed with books. Rather, it has a lot of newspapers, seats, computers, etc. Sad but true. They constantly cull older books, which makes me sad also. However, I believe most books or many are scanned and available online. I hate reading online..... Anyway, I find it sad that people choose to destroy books because they don't agree with them. Perhaps some should be somewhat limited, or not but I don't think they should be destroyed because of differing opinions or beliefs.
Great video as always! Not that you'd ever lack material for new content, but I could see you doing a very successful ancient ASMR video series featuring your calligraphy and replicas of ancient papyrus rolls and codexes.
Dr. Sledge I just finished watching the video and I have to say, "well said my friend". I would at least imagine we would be friends should we meet in the real world. We Americans should, as a society, value learning and knowledge more than we do. It is a shame that the role of those institutions that promote and increase learning are being attacked with such, zeal these days. Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video and driving home the importance of their role in underpinning the foundation of our democratic society. Excellent work on this and I found it very enlightening.
Great video. My understanding of the library of Alexandria was probably similar to most - super high level and imbibing myth rather than fact. I really appreciate you laying out the facts in such an approachable way! I love your channel and it’s inspiring me to learn more about all this stuff. Please keep it up 👍
That scroll of Aristotle's metaphysics is the coolest thing!! I have more books in my house than I know what to do with. It's so hard to imagine how difficult it was to get access to writings
It is amazing the amount of texts that did survive from ancient times, particularly when you realize that even as recently as the 1600's, we still have an incomplete snapshot of all Shakespeare's plays.
I’m in love with this channel ans this is the only video I’ve seen so far. THIS IS THE TYPE OF CONTENT I RAVE ABOUT ALL THE TIME!!! I’ve also researched this bc I’m in school to be a librarian. And I knew a lot of this but still had a great deal to learn !! Ugh I just 👏 bravo this was so good!
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7:22, i wonder if once could introduce alex and his general's squad the cities and languages and technology and science (excluding time travel and adjacent sciences), lying to them telling them theyd be able to attempt conquest...
I wonder what our civilizations section would look like.
Ya know, and the rest of the library too 😅
I love your final thoughts about cherishing what we DO have rather than lamenting what we DON'T. Wise words, Justin, thank you!
"Love the living while they're still alive" -David Gold, R.I.P.
@@darkclownKellen"They've gone to be forgotten, we are here to be adored"... Love that song, helps keep things in perspective for me at times.
@@darkclownKellenIs that the same David Gold from Woods of Ypres? :o I've never got super into them, I just know he was in Thrawsunblat before he passed bc I love them. Either way you just reminded me, I should check em out :)
That's him! Yeah he played drums on the Canada ep. Passed away before Thrawsunblats first album was made.
Dr Sledge, I hope that you know that your channel is a Library of Alexandria all on its own. The whims of the algorithm may be fickle, but you provide the public with a wealth of information that we may never have had access to otherwise.
The scroll demonstration was fascinating. I know scrolls were and are a thing, but seeing one actually rolled and unrolled like that gives me an appreciation for the difficulty of using and storing scrolls. Thanks.
i now know why its called "scrolling". like on a webpage. never thought about it
The scoll was one of the cooler things that I have seen on UA-cam. I have had friends from art school who have handmade their own paper and books. Various shapes of materials to display drawings and prints. Friends aquaintances who have been librarians or worked in college libraries.
Recognizing that there were just a handful of these repositories, and that any visitor to Alexandria’s library would be awestruck by the sheer volume of scrolls and the range of subjects and variety of authors attached. For the anecdotal evidence to quote a figure ten times larger is no surprise at all.
To me, the dream of the Library of Alexandria is very much alive in torrenting communities, which both make knowledge and culture freely accessible and more pervasive to destruction through their dispersion in a network of enthusiasts.
The raid that killed What.cd, in my opinion, is a tragedy comparable to the fires that consumed so many ancient works.
Thankfully, nowadays, rebuilding those virtual institutions is much more possible than it was to those ancient scholars.
This video makes an excellent point about access to scholarship and knowledge more generally. Most people today would consider access to knowledge via libraries, unicentres of learning and the internet as being axiomatic. However, I'm sure the old philosophers who enjoyed browsing whatever scrolls were held at Alexandria in its heyday probably thought exactly the same thing, and never considered for a moment that there would come a time when it was no longer available. Access to knowledge is preserved only as long as we make the effort to preserve it. Great video!
The algorithm as a demiurge is such a good metaphor for a corporate internet. It really is a trap, like the material world to gnostics, which creates a world of opportunities while limiting possibilities overall. The creation of illusions of competition and an obfuscation of shared person-hood and genuine community not filtered through an overbearing all-seeing eye.
^ This comment needs to be housed as a proverb and a metaphor for future generations. Spot on.
This is one of the best episodes I've seen. Utterly fascinating and informative. Your passion for the subject shines through.
“The pretention of neutrality is often the velvet glove hiding the iron fist” BARS! BARS! BARS!
Really though, you come out with some extremely insightful quotes out the blue! (I’m stealing them)
I have small notebook where I record random quotes as I remember or run across them. By authors ancient to modern, and by those that are well known or obscure, and a few anonymous. This quote will go into my notebook.
This is an amazing video. When I was a kid, I wished I could travel back in time to when the library was in it's heyday. Little did I know that my local university probably had more texts in Ancient Greek than the Great Library ever did. I also want to reiterate your recommendation of Al Muqaddimah and also recommend Premodernist's video on this topic.
Alexandria for sure didn't have as many books in ancient Greek as your local library, but it had a million more scrolls and tablets indulged with writings beyond your imagination that just do not exist anymore but in the wisdom of a few disciples!
Quantity vs quanlity...
For me it was Sagan's Cosmos that made me want to visit the Serapeum. The visualizations in the original Cosmos really was inspiring. I wonder if Dr. Justin grew up on those like I did.
@@ponyoteSagan gave me the idea it was more than it probably was. The idea we would be colonizing space if only we had the lost knowledge stuck with me for years.
@Bildgesmythe it haunts me to this day. If Carl was still with us, I can't help but think he would be so dang mad. We must carry on in his stead, to save the world. Sorry this got a bit political.
I find it sad that modern libraries are being defunded and stripped of "controversial " books. I can only hope that the Internet will save banned books and kids will read them. I have such great memories of wandering through the library and choosing books, reading in the quiet. Save our modern libraries! Bring your kids to them.
I smelled that musty library smell when I read your comment!
@@scottmowdy3856 what you talking about you don't even know what a library is. your just remembering your nanas house
Controversial....meaning interesting and stating facts and stories way above the norm? Can't have too much of those. Makes the mobs unruly.
Unfortunately Western governments are bringing in bills to stop the spread of misinformation, basically anything that doesn’t follow the leftist narrative and threatens the power of the WEF
There is a difference between a book and porn pushed on children on behalf of the LGBT agenda.
I'm loving seeing how much more comfortable your presentation has become. The cuts/edits have decreased and the flow of the presentation seems more natural. Great video!
As someone who at least once a month thinks about the myth of the library of Alexandria I'm so here for this video 🙌
It is a lovely story, non?
The vadican
Been a fan for about a year now and this has to be one of your best videos yet. Such a sobering look at one of my favorite topics in history, thank you Dr. Sledge!
The sad withering of The Library echoing that of academic institutions (especially in arts and humanities) is...
Well something that more people need to hear. The Library looms large in popular imagination as a symbol for civilization itself, & to know that it is not the fires of war but the much more insidious fire of apathy that burns our libraries now...
Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library
Line up to the mind cemetery now
What we don't know keeps the contracts alive and movin'
They don't gotta burn the books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells
Rally 'round the family, pockets full of shells
- ancient wisdom
@@TheEsotericaChannel I love your badass musical influences, man!!
@@TheEsotericaChannellove the quote from the learned philosopher, Zachariah of Machinos
@@hive_indicator318 aka Zachariah of the Rock of Oryi Katá Machinos
@@TheEsotericaChannel it's my second watch of this video months after my first watch, and I just noticed this reply...your cultural touchstones are so similar to mine it's eerie sometimes lmao from D&D to black metal to RATM and beyond, to say nothing of your philosophical and political touchstones that we share
I work at West Virginia University and this episode hit hard. Thanks Dr. Sledge.
Thank you for that episode. I had no idea there was no actual archaeological evidence of the library! The computation of how many rolls or volumes could have existed was really illuminating too. We need facts!
Yeah, I'm a big fan of facts, data, truth, etc., way better than the alternative
By far the best occult based academic channel. Great episode.
Oh ya wee beauty. Love a long Esoterica video. Nice on a Friday. Love from Scotland 👍🏼🏴
This is by far my favorite esoterica episode thus far. I could feel the passion in your conclusion about rejecting false piety and appreciating the textual miracles that have survived the ravages of time. Really, really effective.
Ok but the way your demeanor brightened when you pulled out the scroll you copied was the highlight of this whole episode.
And I think its because I can hear that as an echo of how I talk when telling people about my spinning wheel (shes 130 years old and spins better than some modern ones.) because of that like, excited pride and joy of "Look!!!! Thing!!! It makes me happy and I want to share it with you!"
This comment was sponsored by Autism™
Applause. Love the opening and the ending. Yes, whenever we have a vacuum of knowledge we always fill it up with demons. That's why we value this channel ("educational institution") so much.
I hope I'm doing my small part to make information accessible!
@@TheEsotericaChannel
The understatement of both the 20th and the 21st century!
My dyslexia had me read the start of that as "applesauce". Needless to say, that's not what you said and I agree
@@TheEsotericaChannel what is that you don't like about post-structuralism? And what kind of "string theory" are you referring to? I'd really wish to know. Thank you, have a good day.
@@johnmanole4779 One is French (mostly) nonsense masquerading as philosophy. The other is numerology masquerading as physics.
Im so glad I found this channel. Thank you Dr. Sledge and everyone behind this channel!
I was looking forward to this one!
Good to see you here - hope you are well, friend!
Thanks for challenging my previous perceptions on the Library of Alexandria. Also, wonderful childhood memories were unlocked. I'm so glad my dad was a reader. He took me and my little brother to our local library twice a month. We would go to the kid's section while he would go to the sections he liked. We would each get as many books as we could carry out. My dad would go through a stack of books every couple of weeks then we'd go back for more. I so remember that library/old book fragrance and the wonderful memories of browsing the stacks for our own gems.I'm old enough to remember an actual card catalog. I just turned 60 and I still use my local library for everything from best selling ebooks to the genealogy research and local history sections. I'm fortunate to live in a place where our local libraries are well-funded, well-used and well-loved.
Thank you for bringing a much needed rational lens to a subject that provokes so much misty-eyed speculation. 🙏
right?! i really appreciate the maths and maintenance he brings to light
The myth of the great lost library full of unique ancient wisdom continues in Umberto Eco's _The Name of the Rose_ and is a powerful symbol.
That at the end there is the most fitting use of the word demiurge I've heard.
Thank you for showing your Aristotle scroll--not only because it gives me an idea of some of the calligraphic work you've produced, but because unrolling the papyrus was turning your video into an ASMR video...but in a good way, as I love the sound of literary media! ;)
I have written smaller bits of papyrus, and at one point I had a small scroll that I wrote out a hymn on (in Latin), and that took a while, and was nowhere near the quality of what you showed here...but nonetheless, it gave me an idea of the kind of work the ancient scribes did. I wish I still had that scroll...I gave it to a former friend, and I regret it now (not only because the friendship went sour!).
Lived in California and grew papyrus, made paper and I don't have one piece of my work left. Know how you feel.
I just want to say: you rule. Thank you for all your hard work. Your content is entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking. You deserve a lot of credit.
Thanks again, and: Peace!
Dr. Sledge, you are a brilliant light blazing in a bleak wilderness! Bob the Dread Pirate joins his voice to the chorus of those who are grateful for your penetrating insight, your fair-minded and non-prejudicial analysis, and your noncompromising commitment to meticulous research.
great episode. Very lively and your example with the papyrus made iit mode special!
In a world of Chaos, Dr. Sledge, your channel is a needed reprieve.
Towards the end of the video, thank you for your solidarity Dr. Sledge!
I would have never guessed this would have been the topic for your next upload but I could not be happier. Keep up the amazing work 🙌
I've never heard the history of the Library broken down with this level of context. Outstanding presentation. 👏👏👏
Thanks for another great video 💙 As a kid, I used to spend most of my summer and every weekend at my little local library and it opened up so many new worlds to me. I learned much more there than I think I ever could have at the library of Alexandria (mostly because, as a female and a commoner, they probably wouldn't have let me past the threshold at Alexandria lol).
I bet they let women in, e.g., hypatia
We know so much, and yet so little, about the past.
Great video, great channel.
Thank you.
This channel is so interesting. You always cover the topics I’m interested in and the editing is awesome
Apropos of nothing: your calligraphy is absolutely gorgeous, Doc. Good grief that is just beautiful.
Your passion is palpable. And influencing.
The algorithm as Demi Urge, well put, I liked that big time! (Well, I do mostly like everything I watch on Your channel)
The new library in Alexandria seam to look quite nice (understatment), drawn by Snøhetta (which in Norway we to view as a Norwegian firm) which also has designed the new Opera in Oslo (Norway), which is verry much liked by most, particularly considering its an opera house. :-)
Pardon... just some rambelings from the north...
Thanks for the channel! Love it much!
Love this episode and love the ending notes. Thank you
that sign off was extremely pungent and struck a string in my core. i will try to preserve things like these, even if its just sharing your video around. thank you very much Dr Sledge
Hot damn, what a pep talk at the end! I'm gonna go take a selfie with my library card now!!
Do it - write a hand written letter to your local librarian. They are a treasure.
Celebrate your local libraries!
I love your call to action in appreciation of the existing current libraries, and the amazing existence of historical writings. I truly enjoy your channel!
Congrats on another superior episode-solid scholarship, tight thesis, and engaging storytelling.
The Book That Wouldnt Burn by Mark Lawrence took big inspiration from this library.
So impressed by the scroll. I shouldn’t be surprised, you are one seriously dedicated person and an inspiration to me!
Your words in this video carried a different weight than other videos! Very inspiring! Sparked my creativity and challenged me to be appreciative. Inspiring. Thank you.
Wow, once again you dazzle me with your calligraphy skills. Man, you go dense - I love it. Ink on the page probably weighs more than the papyrus itself. I'm working on a Tehilim scroll in my own Hebrew southpaw fist, so I feel you!
Thank you sooo much!! I had no idea to be honest that there wasn't much historical evidence for Alexandria or that basically what I thought of its history is myth. I was really happy to hear you mention Ashurbanipal, as well. Books, libraries, writing and languages are all very very dear to me. Who knows maybe we will find more lost works in places like Herculaneum, especially as our technology grows to try and recover them.
Arguably the most inspiring of all your videos yet - thanks so much for that! ❤
Thank you Dr. Sledge! I so appreciate what you have to share and you always have me rolling in laughter!!! Which is the best way to learn! The straight up no bs attitude, the witty, dry, like dad jokes almost... vibes bro!!! 😃🤣
Ahhhh brother, love this channel so much. 🙏 Would love more PGM content. 💖 Greetings from Bristol, England.
www.youtube.com/@antikemagie
THIS IS HANDS DOWN ONE OF THE BEST CHANNELS ON YT....
Behold, Gentlemen.....
......tis is truly a Unicorn.
😈🤘😎
Thank you for this vid. I've wondered about how true the library of Alexandria is. Side note: you could totally do a papyrus scroll asmr.
Bravo! Fantastic episode.
So I no longer need to experience anguish every time the subject comes up? Sweet! On the flip side, I can no longer justify dreams of ancient halls of wisdom. They are so much more romantic than googling something on my phone.
I wouldnt say that "dreams of halls of ancient wisdom" are unwarranted. How many books do you own? I dont anywhere near the 40,000 guestimate (rather than the mythical 400,000) 40,000 volumes is still plenty enough material to give you a labrynth of halls of wisdom. And these would be the sacred texts of the region and surrounding regions...I dont think his reality based myth busting has harmed the glory of the once was library..Just, the more whimsical folks who thought 1000 books on levitation existed but got burned, they should probably let reality set it. As he said, only one of Artistotles manuscripts survived, so in all likelyhood, much that was at the Alexandrian library burned away forever. Not all of it, certainly there were scholars, copying, adding to collections near and afar. But there was certainly some real loss. 40,000 papyrus scrolls is not a miniscule amount.
Honestly, if you've never gone into a university's research library and just wandered around a bit, you're missing out. Even better if you can go into different libraries that serve different disciplines.
Dr. Sledge, I am a great admirer of this channel and found this video especially touching-your call to cherish what we have, and to recognize the sheer dumb luck that allowed one manuscript of Aristotle to survive, was as moving as anything I’ve seen here (and I intend a great compliment-I love what you do here). Something of that feeling of wonder fills me whenever I wander the stacks at my university library. Also, we have a lot of the same books (like you, I have trouble figuring out where to put mine)-your library tour was great fun. As an English Renaissance scholar, I’d love to see what you think of the demonology and angelology of Milton, but I’m also eagerly awaiting more on Paracelsus, Ficino, and Bruno. And Cusanus, if the mood strikes you. But above all, I want to thank you for enlarging my knowledge of arcana in more ways than you can know. I suppose that I just really have no choice but to become a patron!
Anyone who calls the UA-cam Algorithm "a Demiurge" deserves a subscription.
In fact, the whole "the Demiurge got in the way of God's creation and made it imperfect" narrative fits really well with the process of enshittification created by Cory Doctorow to explain the inevitable decay of online services.
Very soothing and highly educational listening as I do my makeup this morning, as always! Up till today, I did think the Library of Alexandria was a real thing that was destroyed in one singular event, but thanks to this lovely video of yours and a video by UA-cam historian Kaz Rowe, I feel much more enlightened. Everything else that surrounded the myth that you cited here was incredibly fascinating!
You’re one of the best UA-camrs out there. Keep it up! 🥰
Justin I love how you use comedy in order to teach, and I hope that I could so this well when I get my channel off the ground in Political Science.
Powerful opening image ❤
I never thought I'd get all emotional over an episode of Esoterica. Goddamn, Dr. Sledge. Strong words at the end.
I love the balanced presentation on this topic. There's such hype around Alexandria and not (too) much information available. I'm grateful especially for the explanation on the scrolls and the origins of the library.
Exciting video!! Thank you always for such quality content🎉
Internet and digital information is the revolution in human history. It is an amazing era
Oh I love this further delving into Libraries before and beyond the famous Alexandria! I had no inkling of or nor given full thought to the more gradual perhaps disrepair or disruption of maintenance of splendor! Spoilers follow: Yeah, Hellenization of Indian Buddhist art is fascinating! 🎉 and this brings some learning for me on Jewish scrolls 📜 to what we know on the surface of books in the Jewish Bible collective. I love this inclusion of passage from Asclepius. It's edifying and recalls the draw of mystery. Yeah, Ptolemy. How fascinating this convergence of Greco-Egyptian and Judaic milieu! 🎉 whoa, Homer! Etymology, even! The relevant calculations is an awesome segment of deduction by estimation! 📜 📜 ≠ 📚 Excellent firsthand informal surveying, Justin Sledge! So you're saying there's a chance...that the truth is (scrolls are) out there! By calligraphy! How does the ink stay?? Nice nod to that flight of fancy 🎉 there! Is lingua franca anything to do with French or just common, as in frankly speaking? This is its own essential course in attaining a degree in Library keeping and records keeping! Yep, County Library! 🔥 🔥 🪜 📚 📜 📜 📜 🎻! The mass appeal power of developed myths over time prompt seeking and unveiling of actual verifiable history, like the more historically accessible battle of Thermopylae amped up and further mythologized in the entertaining jingoistic 300. Yeah, Cleopatra was a Ptolemy! Kara Cooney book, I believe! Oh wait, not egyptology. Stacy Schiff tome! 🎉 so the 🔥 perhaps increased its legend right when it was declining in prestige or maintenance? 🤔 will do check out link! Wonderful tie in to and perspective on Nag Hammadi! SPOILER: A lost Aramaic gospel?? 🎉 😮 (its own episode or short, perhaps?) 🎉 Thank you for underwriting inspiration! Including my needed hopefully sooner patronage Esoterica! 🎉 Thank you, Dr Justin Sledge for this learning that should be required to be an archivist librarian! 📚
And what an impactful takeaway epic conclusion, Dr Justin Sledge! So much fascinating content always flies beyond my current capacity for actual comprehension like your mention of string theory, which I could sit and absorb endlessly and not fully comprehend without a concerted effort of curriculum. And yet, I sat through once again fully to immerse in the video and it still draws inspiration that's so resonant for whatever reason, even as there are breathtaking cosmic 🌌 content in Esoterica alone that blows my mind! 🎉 🌌 I think it's that the ancients here aren't just set apart like the heroic almost demigod-like cast of the Illiad but very much peoples who like reading and appreciate the value and draw of libraries, like the Stoics. Maybe that's why the fictional Gladiator is my favorite modern day epic recreation tale because it has at its core story, Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher Stoic emperor, who liked to read and ponder, amidst his larger than life rule of empire albeit Roman. And that set me on a path itself. 🎉 The story of Alexandria it seems is the ongoing story of written history itself and its preservation. Some is lost to time, with only occasional whispers of invitation to wonder, and some remain, rare and founding fragments of a whole school of thought, resonating across the ages. 🎉 📜 📜 📚 ✍️ 📖!!
Dude I felt the sensation of this video making me smarter throughout my whole body
As a library lover, trained comparative religionist, and former archivist, I really loved this vid. Thanks so much.
Those closing comments are absolutely fabulous!
This is one of the greatest channels on youtube, i wanted to thank you sir its amazing
I just wanted to remind people that most countries maintain a national library now.
The Library of Congress is massive and open to the public and the British Library is one of the largest in the world though only open to residents with a reader's permit in person.
They both provide online access to alot of media as well.
These 2 are only examples for national ones but many universities also have public collections as well that you can arrange access to.
Yup.... And who is paying your plane ticket, hotel and restaurant bill for you to use it??? Knowledge is a privilege!
@@mellie4174 All knowledge takes some form of sacrifice.
But as I pointed out there are online portals to alot of it.
It is cheaper to access knowledge now than ever before and places like thrift books have large selections of academic and historical stuff and alot of translations.
Besides even a plane or bus ticket to a national library is far easier than a multi month life threatening land and sea journey around the Mediterranean.
You have brought me to tears! Your words are GOLDEN and should be emblazoned upon every library in America for sure, but let's fantasize... the world. Thank you and for what it's worth, I love your teachings!
Yes! Absolutely!
Amazing copy of Aristotle's Metaphysics! As a Sanskrit PhD, I copied out the first chapter of Prajñāpāramitā in Eight Thousand Lines. Ancient books were huge investments of time and materials, and took up a lot of space.
Fellow scribe here, thank you for sharing your scribal work! Wonderful upload as always
Thank you for yet another wonderful video
Keep up the great work, Dr Sledge 👏⚒️
Just imagine how big of a magnet Aristotle's mom would have to use to put one of those scrolls on their fridge.
Thanks Justin. :-) Your love of old books is always a beautiful thing to see. Good point about supporting our current institutions of learning, btw.
as someone who makes a living on youtube the comparison of the algorithm to the demiurge is hilariously apt
Your words Sir Sledge are a solace in the psychological and spiritual chaos, due to the propaganda, falsehood and conspiracies of modern world.
Your work is more than what you think, and as humans are not immortal what we create outlives us and your influence will surely be as absurd and yet beautiful, as perplexing yet pure as nature.
May you be bestowed with what you desire and more with that an easy mind.
Happy new year and happy new knowledge... and happy discovery of old knowledge.
Another spectacular intro!
OMG! That scroll is so cool!!! ✨️🌟🤩
Thank you so much for this video, Dr Sledge! I had no idea that the Library of Alexandria had been much smaller than I was led to believe. Videos like this are wonderful for better understanding the ancient world, and that understanding makes our world even larger.
Wow. Add passion to wisdom... mix with research. Very inspiring sir, Thank you.
that ending made me cry, so beautiful
so great to receive this information - its certainly a counter-weight to many tales of what the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA was all about... and the manner of its demise. There is great energy in exposing - NEW and FRESH - History. shhhh - amazing..!!
I want to thank you, not just for your awesome lectures but your links; from one of them, I discovered Kallice and they certainly did awaken my soul, rather startlingly but nevertheless, excellent music. You are also excellent 💗😈 As for libraries, my local library is not so well endowed with books. Rather, it has a lot of newspapers, seats, computers, etc. Sad but true. They constantly cull older books, which makes me sad also. However, I believe most books or many are scanned and available online. I hate reading online..... Anyway, I find it sad that people choose to destroy books because they don't agree with them. Perhaps some should be somewhat limited, or not but I don't think they should be destroyed because of differing opinions or beliefs.
Great video as always! Not that you'd ever lack material for new content, but I could see you doing a very successful ancient ASMR video series featuring your calligraphy and replicas of ancient papyrus rolls and codexes.
Dr. Sledge I just finished watching the video and I have to say, "well said my friend". I would at least imagine we would be friends should we meet in the real world. We Americans should, as a society, value learning and knowledge more than we do. It is a shame that the role of those institutions that promote and increase learning are being attacked with such, zeal these days. Thank you very much for taking the time to make this video and driving home the importance of their role in underpinning the foundation of our democratic society. Excellent work on this and I found it very enlightening.
Great video. My understanding of the library of Alexandria was probably similar to most - super high level and imbibing myth rather than fact. I really appreciate you laying out the facts in such an approachable way!
I love your channel and it’s inspiring me to learn more about all this stuff. Please keep it up 👍
I can’t believe the level of coolness and dedication you have to copy out a scroll!!
Also for realistic, thought provoking entertainment there's none better than thou sire.
Another absolute belter, thank you
That scroll of Aristotle's metaphysics is the coolest thing!!
I have more books in my house than I know what to do with. It's so hard to imagine how difficult it was to get access to writings
It is amazing the amount of texts that did survive from ancient times, particularly when you realize that even as recently as the 1600's, we still have an incomplete snapshot of all Shakespeare's plays.
Great Vid Doc👍You sound a little under the weather so thanks for soldiering on✊Hope you’re fighting fit again soon 👊
I’m in love with this channel ans this is the only video I’ve seen so far. THIS IS THE TYPE OF CONTENT I RAVE ABOUT ALL THE TIME!!! I’ve also researched this bc I’m in school to be a librarian. And I knew a lot of this but still had a great deal to learn !! Ugh I just 👏 bravo this was so good!