The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (242 page)

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Authors: John Andrew Simpson,

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, the great book is equal to a great evil.

1628
Anatomy of Melancholy
(ed. 3) 7
Oftentimes it falls out .. a great Booke is a great mischiefe.
1711
Spectator
23 July
We do not expect to meet with any thing in a bulky Volume … A great Book is a great Evil.
1909
British Weekly
8 Apr. 13
It may be .. said in reference to this unhappy production that a great book is indeed a great evil.
1933
Oxford English Dictionary
(Preface) p. vii.
If there is any truth in the old Greek maxim that a large book is a great evil, English dictionaries have been steadily growing worse ever since their inception more than three centuries ago.