Beginning a History of the Alexandrian Library

Deep in my study, as the outer world resounded with the havoc of war, or limped in slow recovery from its frightful toll, I thought I would write the history of the Alexandrian Library, itself the perfect victim of military madness and of the frenzy of the heart and soul of man.

–Edward A. Parsons, The Alexandrian Library: Glory of the of the Hellenic World, ix.