Rare Books Show That We Are Rare Beings

I was privilaged today to look at an early folio of William Shakespeare, a very old, rare, and valuable book.  Why did I think it was so precious and why was I so excited to just look at it?  It is very old and we are lucky that it survived at all, but that is not the only reason (mountains are old but we don't get excited about those in the same way). It is a piece of history and represents other lost pieces of history, but that is not the only reason either. The real reason I, and so many others, were excited to simply stare at such a thing is because it is a piece of human history and by staring into it we felt closer to a past and understood more about who were (because of where we came from). I owe that realization to my experience with such a rare book and I am grateful.