The Library of Babel,by Jorge Luis Borges(1941)
Like all men of the Library, I have traveled in my youth;I have wandered in
appearances.Menusually in fer from this mirror that the Library is not infinite (i fit
distances.In the hallway there is a mirror which faithfully duplicates all
standing up;in the other, satisfy one's fecalnecessities.Alsothroughhere
The universe(which others call the Library)is composed of an indefinite and
hexagon in which was born.OnceIamdead,there will beno lack of pious
represent and promise the infinite...Light is provided by some spherical fruit
which bear the name of lamps.There are two,transversally placed,in each
two;their height,which is the distance from floor to ceiling,scarcely exceeds that
perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries,with vastair shafts between,
passes aspiral stairway,which sinks abysmally and soars upwards tore mote
opens onto be another gallery,
identicaltothefirstandtoalltherest.Totheleftand
search of a blook, perhaps the catalogue of catalogues;now that my eyes can
invariable.Twenty shelves,five long shelves perside ,cover all the sides except
right of the hallway there are two very smallclosets.Inthefirst,one may sleep
By this art you may contemplate the variations of the 23letters...
were,why this illusory duplication?);I prefer to dream that its polished surfaces
ofanormalbookcase.Oneofthefreesides leads to an arrow hallway which
hardly decipher what write, I am preparing to die just a few leagues from the
interminably,theupperandlowerfloors.Thedistributionofthegalleries is
surrounded by very lowrailings.Fromany of the hexagons one can see,
hexagon.The light they emitis insufficient,incessant.
The Anatomy of Me lancholy, part2,sect.II,mem.IV
hands to throw me over the railing; my grave will be the fathomless air;my body.
will sink endlessly and decay and dissolve in the wind generated by the fall,
thirty-fivebooks of uniform format;each book is off our hundred and ten pages;
timeseemedmysterious.Beforesummarizingthesolution(whose discovery, in
First:TheLibrary exists abaeterno.This truth,whose immediate corollary is
which my fallible hands crawls on the cover of a book, with the organic letters
There are five shelves for each of the hexagon's walls;each shelf contains
which is infinite.IsaythattheLibrary is unending.Theidealists argue that the
words,obscure.This cyclical book is God.)Letitsufficenowformetorepeatthe
mind.Man,theimperfectlibrarian,may betheproductofchanceorofmalevolent
volumes,ofinexhaustiblestairways forthetravelerandlatrines fortheseated
hexagonalroomsareanecessary formofabsolutespaceor,atleast,ofour
Second:Theorthographicalsymbols aretwenty-fiveinnumber.
intuitionofspace.They reasonthatatriangularorpentagonalroomis
inconceivable.(Themystics claimthattheirecstasy reveals tothemacircular
follows thecompletecircleofthewalls;buttheirtestimony is suspect;their
chambercontainingagreatcircularbook,whosespineis continuous andwhich
divineandthehuman,itis enoughtocomparethesecrudewaveringsymbols
hexagons andwhosecircumferenceis inaccessible.
thefutureeternity oftheworld,cannotbeplacedindoubtby any reasonable
indicateorprefigurewhatthepages willsay.Iknowthatthis incoherenceatone
spiteofits tragic projections,is perhaps thecapitalfactinhistory)Iwishtorecall
afewaxioms.
classic dictum:TheLibrary is aspherewhoseexactcenteris any oneofits
inside:punctual,delicate,perfectly black,inimitably symmetrical.
eachpage,offorty lines,eachline,ofsomeeighty letterswhichareblack in
color.Therearealsoletters onthespineofeachbook;theseletters donot
librarian,canonly bethework ofagod.Toperceivethedistancebetweenthe
demiurgi;theuniverse,withits elegantendowmentofshelves,ofenigmatical
1This findingmadeitpossible,threehundredyearsago,toformulateageneraltheory ofthe
palm...They admitthattheinventorsofthis writingimitatedthetwenty-five
fallacious.)
up,itis incomprehensible.Allthis,Irepeat,is true,butfourhundredandten
repudiatethevainandsuperstitious customoffindingameaninginbooks and
butthis vaguethesis didnotprevail.Others thoughtofcryptographs;generally,
theformless andchaotic natureofalmostallthebooks.Onewhichmy fathersaw
inahexagononcircuitfifteenninety-fourwas madeupofthelettersMCV,
influencethefollowingoneandthatthevalueofMCVinthethirdlineofpage71
jumbles andincoherences.(Iknowofanuncouthregionwhoselibrarians
books signify nothinginthemselves.This dictum,weshallsee,is notentirely
Fivehundredyears ago,thechiefofanupperhexagon2cameuponabook
perversely repeatedfromthefirstlinetothelast.Another(very muchconsulted
inthis area)is amerelabyrinthofletters,butthenext-to-lastpagesaysOhtime
Foralongtimeitwas believedthattheseimpenetrablebooks corresponded
formulatedby its originators.
thy pyramids.This muchis already known:forevery sensiblelineof
librarians,usedalanguagequitedifferentfromtheonewenowspeak;itis true
pages ofinalterableMCV's cannotcorrespondtoany language,nomatterhow
was nottheonethesameseries may haveinanotherpositiononanotherpage,
topastorremotelanguages.Itis truethatthemostancientmen,thefirst
dialecticalorrudimentary itmay be.Someinsinuatedthateachlettercould
equateitwiththatoffindingameaningindreams orinthechaotic lines ofone's
naturalsymbols,butmaintainthatthis applicationis accidentalandthatthe
Library andsolvesatisfactorily theproblemwhichnoconjecturehaddeciphered:
thatafewmiles totherightthetongueis dialecticalandthatninety floors farther
this conjecturehas beenaccepted,thoughnotinthesenseinwhichitwas
straightforwardstatement,thereareleagues ofsenseless cacophonies,verbal
as confusingas theothers,butwhichhadnearly twopagesofhomogeneous lines.Heshowedhis findtoawanderingdecoderwhotoldhimthelines were
orthographicalsymbols (anumberwhich,thoughextremely vast,is notinfinite):
thefundamentallawoftheLibrary.This thinkerobservedthatallthebooks,no
offalsecatalogues,thedemonstrationofthefallacy ofthosecatalogues,the
masters ofanintactandsecrettreasure.Therewas nopersonalorworld
problemwhoseeloquentsolutiondidnotexistinsomehexagon.Theuniverse
theperiod,thecomma,thetwenty-twolettersofthealphabet.Healsoallegeda
languagewasestablished:aSamoyedic LithuaniandialectofGuarani,with
languages,theinterpolations ofevery book inallbooks.
autobiographies,thefaithfulcatalogues oftheLibrary,thousands andthousands
totalandthatits shelves registerallthepossiblecombinations ofthetwenty-odd
books.Fromthesetwoincontrovertiblepremises hededucedthattheLibrary is
retainedprodigious arcanaforhis future.Thousands ofthegreedy abandoned
matterhowdiversethey mightbe,aremadeupofthesameelements:thespace,
onthatgospel,thetruestory ofyourdeath,thetranslationofevery book inall
impressionwasoneofextravaganthappiness.Allmenfeltthemselves tobethe
classicalArabianinflections.Thecontentwas alsodeciphered:somenotions of
demonstrationofthefallacy ofthetruecatalogue,theGnostic gospelof
was justified,theuniversesuddenly usurpedtheunlimiteddimensions ofhope.
Basilides,thecommentary onthatgospel,thecommentary onthecommentary
combinativeanalysis,illustratedwithexamples ofvariations withunlimited
prophecy whichvindicatedforalltimetheactsofevery manintheuniverseand
Whenitwas proclaimedthattheLibrary containedallbooks,thefirst
Everything:theminutely detailedhistory ofthefuture,thearchangels'
theirsweetnativehexagons andrushedupthestairways,urgedonby thevain
repetition.Theseexamples madeitpossibleforalibrarianofgenius todiscover
AtthattimeagreatdealwassaidabouttheVindications:books ofapology and
writteninPortuguese;others saidthey wereYiddish.Withinacentury,the
factwhichtravelers haveconfirmed:InthevastLibrarytherearenotwoidentical
intentionoffindingtheirVindication.Thesepilgrims disputedinthenarrowcorridors,proferreddark curses,strangledeachotheronthedivinestairways,
thatthesegravemysteries couldbeexplainedinwords:ifthelanguageof
centuries nowmenhaveexhaustedthehexagons ...Thereareofficialsearchers,
almostkilledthem;they talk withthelibrarianofgalleries andstairs;sometimes
Atthattimeitwas alsohopedthataclarificationofhumanity's basic
forbiddendicecupandfeebly mimicthedivinedisorder.
longperiods oftime,wouldhideinthelatrineswithsomemetaldisks ina
orders.Thesectdisappeared,butinmy childhoodIhaveseenoldmenwho,for
persons whoareperhaps notimaginary)butthesearchers didnotrememberthat
blasphemous sectsuggestedthatthesearches shouldceaseandthatallmen
flungthedeceptivebooks intotheairshafts,mettheirdeathcastdownina
philosophers is notsufficient,themultiformLibrary willhaveproducedthe
inquisitors.Ihaveseenthemintheperformanceoftheirfunction:they always
depression.Thecertitudethatsomeshelfinsomehexagonheldprecious books
mysteries --theoriginoftheLibrary andoftime--mightbefound.Itis verisimilar
shouldjuggleletters andsymbols untilthey constructed,by animprobablegiftof
they pick upthenearestvolumeandleafthroughit,lookingforinfamous words.
As was natural,this inordinatehopewas followedby anexcessive
andthattheseprecious books wereinaccessible,seemedalmostintolerable.A
similarfashionby theinhabitants ofremoteregions.Others wentmad...The
Vindications exist(Ihaveseentwowhichrefertopersons ofthefuture,to
chance,thesecanonicalbooks.Theauthorities wereobligedtoissuesevere
thereof,canbecomputedas zero.
thepossibility ofaman's findinghis Vindication,orsometreacherous variation
unprecedentedlanguagerequired,withits vocabularies andgrammars.Forfour
arriveextremely tiredfromtheirjourneys;theyspeak ofabrokenstairwaywhich
Obviously,nooneexpects todiscoveranything.
Others,inversely,believedthatitwas fundamentaltoeliminateuseless works.They invadedthehexagons,showedcredentials whichwerenotalways
;Ipray totheunknowngods thataman--justone,eventhoughitwere
Book.Onsomeshelfinsomehexagon(menreasoned)theremustexistabook
illustratedandmagical.
gonethroughitandheis analogous toagod.Inthelanguageofthis zone
Him.Foracentury theyhaveexhaustedinvainthemostvariedareas.How
onebeing,letYourenormous Library bejustified.Theimpious maintainthat
this frenzy neglecttwonotablefacts.One:theLibrary is soenormous thatany
vestiges ofthis remotefunctionary's cultstillpersist.Many wanderedinsearchof
Wealsoknowofanothersuperstitionofthattime:thatoftheManofthe
Countertogeneralopinion,Iventuretosupposethattheconsequences ofthe
thousands ofyears ago!--may haveexaminedandreadit.Ifhonorandwisdom
produced.They wereurgedonby thedeliriumoftryingtoreachthebooks inthe
universe3
andhappiness arenotforme,letthembeforothers.Letheavenexist,though
infinity ...Inadventures suchas these,Ihavesquanderedandwastedmy years.
reductionofhumanoriginis infinitesimal.Theother:every copyis unique,
couldonelocatetheveneratedandsecrethexagonwhichhousedHim?
false,leafedthroughavolumewithdispleasureandcondemnedwholeshelves:
whichindicates A's position;tolocatebook B,consultfirstabook C,andsoonto
CrimsonHexagon:books whoseformatis smallerthanusual,all-powerful,
thousandimperfectfacsimiles:works whichdifferonly inaletteroracomma.
Purifiers'depredations havebeenexaggeratedby thehorrorthesefanatics
whichis theformulaandperfectcompendiumofalltherest:somelibrarianhas
Theirnameis execrated,butthosewhodeplorethe``treasures''destroyedby
Itdoes notseemunlikely tomethatthereis atotalbook onsomeshelfofthe
irreplaceable,but(sincetheLibrary is total)therearealways severalhundred
my placebeinhell.Letmebeoutragedandannihilated,butforoneinstant,in
theirhygienic,ascetic furorcausedthesenseless perditionofmillions ofbooks.
Someoneproposedaregressivemethod:TolocatebookA,consultfirstbook B
nonsenseis normalintheLibrary andthatthereasonable(andevenhumbleand
purecoherence)is analmostmiraculous exception.They speak (Iknow)ofthe
powerfulnameofagod.Tospeakis tofallintotautology.This wordy and
``feverishLibrary whosechancevolumes areconstantly indangerofchanging
galleries,butlibraryis breadorpyramidoranythingelse,andthesesevenwords
understandingmy language?)
undermy administrationis entitledTheCombedThunderclapandanotherThe
suchajustificationis verbaland,ex hypothesi,already figures intheLibrary.I
libraryallows thecorrectdefinitionaubiquitous andlastingsystemofhexagonal
nonsense.Itis useless toobservethatthebestvolumeofthemany hexagons
is notfilledwithtenderness andfear,whichis not,inoneoftheselanguages,the
Thecertitudethateverythinghas beenwrittennegates us orturns usinto
notoriously provetheirauthors'abominabletasteanddesperateignorance.In
truth,theLibrary includes allverbalstructures,allvariations permittedby the
oneoftheinnumerablehexagons --anditsrefutationas well.(Annnumberof
incoherent,cannodoubtbejustifiedinacryptographicalorallegoricalmanner;
useless epistlealready exists inoneofthethirty volumes ofthefiveshelves of
tongues donotcontainaterriblemeaning.Noonecanarticulateasyllablewhich
Themethodicaltask ofwritingdistracts mefromthepresentstateofmen.
twenty-fiveorthographicalsymbols,butnotasingleexampleofabsolute
whichdefineithaveanothervalue.Youwhoreadme,areYousureof
cannotcombinesomecharacters
Thesewords,whichnotonly denouncethedisorderbutexemplify itas well,
whichthedivineLibrary has notforeseenandwhichinoneofits secret
dhcmrlchtdj
intoothers andaffirm,negateandconfuseeverythinglikeadeliriousdivinity.''
PlasterCrampandanotherAxaxaxas mlö.Thesephrases,atfirstglance
possiblelanguages usethesamevocabulary;insomeofthem,thesymbol
phantoms.Iknowofdistricts inwhichtheyoungmenprostratethemselves
beforebooks andkiss theirpagesinabarbarous manner,butthey donotknow
stairways andhexagons canconceivably cometoanend--whichis absurd.
2Before,therewasamanforeverythreehexagons.Sucideandpumonarydseaseshave
destroyedthatproportion.Amemoryofunspeakabemelanchoy:attimesIhavetraveledfor
manynightsthroughcorridorsandalongpolshedstarwayswithoutfindingasinglelibrarian.3Irepeat:itsufficesthatabookbepossibleforttoexist.Onlythempossibleisexcluded.For
endure:illuminated,solitary,infinite,perfectly motionless,equippedwithprecious
Ihavejustwrittentheword"infinite".'Ihavenotinterpolatedthis adjectiveout
.
1Theoriginamanuscriptdoesnotcontaindigitsorcapitalletters.Thepunctuationhasbeen
whichinevitably degenerateintobanditry,havedecimatedthepopulation.I
note.)
anddemonstratethspossibilityandotherswhosestructurecorrespondstothatofaladder.4LetziaÁlvarezdeToledohasobservedthatthisvastLibrarysuseless:rigorouslyspeaking,a
TheLibrary is unlimitedandcyclical.Ifaneternaltravelerweretocross itinany
Perhaps my oldageandfearfulness deceiveme,butIsuspectthatthehuman
species --theuniquespecies --is abouttobeextinguished,buttheLibrary will
thesamedisorder(which,thus repeated,wouldbeanorder:theOrder).My
Thosewhoimagineittobewithoutlimitforgetthatthepossiblenumberofbooks
Translatedby J.E.I.
does havesuchalimit.Iventuretosuggestthis solutiontotheancientproblem:
singlevolumewouldbesufficient,avolumeofordinaryformat,printedinnineortenpointtype,
alphabetarethetwentyfvesymbolsconsideredsufficientbythisunknownauthor.(Editor's
ofrhetoricalhabit;Isay thatitis notillogicaltothink thattheworldis infinite.
direction,aftercenturieshewouldseethatthesamevolumes wererepeatedin
howtodecipherasingleletter.Epidemics,hereticalconflicts,peregrinations
Thosewhojudgeittobelimitedpostulatethatinremoteplaces thecorridors and
solitudeis gladdenedby this eleganthope4
volumes,useless,incorruptible,secret.
imitedtothecommaandtheperiod.Thesetwosigns,the space and the twenty-two letters of the
example:nobookcanbealadder,although no doubt there are books which discuss and negate
containing an infinite number ifinfinitely thin leaves.(In the eary seventeenth century ,Cavaieri
believeI have mentioned suicides,more and morefrequent with the years.
saidthatallsolidbodiesarethesuperimpositionofaninfinitenumberofplanes.)Thehandlingof thissilkyvademecumwouldnotbeconvenient:eachapparentpagewoudunfodintoother
analogousones;theinconceivablemiddlepagewouldhavenoreverse.