This is a very short interesting story Chapter 1 to 10.

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.