Vrubleskis Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, "Gallery of Thoughts". Thoughts of Dr. Jaunius Gumbis, 2024.

Dr. Jaunius Gumbis – attorney, associate professor at Vilnius University, collector, bibliophile. A renowned professional in his field, he says that collecting was not merely a whim or an unexpected emotional impulse. Travelling extensively for work, the attorney took an interest in art and visited museums, and his chosen direction of academic activity – the philosophy of law – also played a role. An interest in art and a deeper understanding of it is a path of knowing oneself and the world, and people who follow the collector's path also have a social duty – to share. From an art lover you become a custodian and assume responsibility – you take care, you make things public, recognising that this is not merely your property; it belongs to everyone.

The treasures accumulated by Dr. Jaunius Gumbis over a long period are regularly exhibited. In 2018, the exhibition "The Collection of Attorney J. Gumbis: The Past Preserved in Books" held at the National Museum introduced the public to an impressive collection of old Lithuanian and Lithuania-related books.

"Old and rare books were plundered during wars and occupations, so I feel a duty to return them to Lithuania. The collector's aim is not only to find and display historical treasures, but also to make them available for historians to study. It can be confidently stated that in Lithuanian history the role of the book in building society and preserving national identity is undoubtedly fundamental. A person who comes to an exhibition and sees an old book behind glass that they cannot leaf through will probably not learn much, but the most important thing is that they feel they can be proud of the country in which they live. That tourists who drop in to see the exhibition understand that the country they are visiting – Lithuania – has a rich, broad, colourful history. And the people of this country have something to be proud of," says Dr. Jaunius Gumbis. 

What kind of book would you call valuable – where does a book's value lie?

Value is an individual feeling and perception of what is most important and useful to each of us. A valuable book first and foremost reflects a particular Person's bond with a specific book. It may have been given as a gift by an important Person, or be a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation, or have content so special that it left an unforgettable impression of inner reflection, and so on.

For me, as a bibliophile, a book has not only personal but also social value. In this sense, a book is an important part of cultural heritage that allows one to know one's state, one's nation and, ultimately, oneself. Such a book is valuable for its artistic merit, date of publication, number of copies, binding or ex-libris marks. No less important is that the book one owns or actively seeks be a part of culture, history, statehood or national identity. This understanding of the book as an important part of heritage also gives rise to a particular sense of responsibility – to assume the duty of safeguarding and cherishing the fragment of heritage that has come into one's hands.

What book would you recommend that library staff read?

Books are the most direct path to oneself, and it is a path we must walk ourselves, without seeking recommendations or advice from People who do not know us.

Books are like "a million small things" that allow us to know and understand ourselves and our place in the surrounding world. Each book read is like a small but very meaningful step / contribution to comprehending one's inner and outer worlds. In the context of reading, in my view, it is important to use the plural. There is not and cannot be a single book that changes and/or transforms a Person's life (although I am prepared to debate the matter where the Bible is concerned). It is very important that, when we choose books to read or recommend them to others, we are sure not to "contaminate" our self-perception with unnecessary authors, thoughts and stories, and not to "drown" in foreign emotions unrelated to our personal world. The inner ecology of self-perception becomes the greatest challenge for each of us.

Have you ever used a book for something other than its direct purpose?

Yes – several books on my shelf stand there unread.

Are digital books competitors to printed ones?

Certainly not. You choose a printed book if you expect from reading not only interesting content but also a pleasant pastime and emotional rest. However, there is content that has to be easily and conveniently accessible. The books on legal theory and the philosophy of law that I have written are available only online, for students' convenience. After all, we cannot reject the alternatives that technology provides for engaging with or accessing the content we want.

Does each generation have its own relationship with the book? What is your generation's attitude to books?

Plato already said: "This (new) generation will destroy the world." Almost nothing has changed since then – we look at the new generation with strangeness and apprehension, especially noting that they read little and do not devote enough time to study. Yet reality shows that one need not finish university to make huge discoveries (Apple, Facebook, SpaceX and so on) that were – and are – beyond the reach of the great minds of science. I am confident that every generation will find an appropriate use for books.

What book would you not lend even to a friend?

The question is not about the book but about the friend. I would not lend to someone who does not know how to treat a book respectfully and properly.

What literary genre would your biography deserve?

Good books "outlive" the Person. But every Person's life is "greater" than what could be fitted into the genre of a book. However much we love books, we cannot place a book or its content above the Person – which I always write with a capital letter.

Authors from which country are on your list of favourites?

I have never given this question any thought, because it is entirely unimportant to me when choosing a book to read. It is not the author, nor their country of birth, that makes a book valuable, but its artistic content. I do not believe one should now stop reading F. Dostoevsky because he is a writer from a Russia that justifies cruelty and crime. Books are also valuable in that they compel us – and ought to compel us – to think; they teach us to be able to distinguish good things from bad and to make conscious ethical choices.

If you were to write a book yourself, what would it be about?

I am currently writing a book / monograph in which, seeking to understand the causes of the crisis of Law in which we now live, I return to fundamental questions of Law: What is Law? Where does it come from? What makes it Law? Why are we under a duty to obey it? Does it not restrict our freedoms and rights? What kind of Law is just? Are we perhaps seeking overly simple answers to complex questions of Law – answers that cannot explain the multifaceted essence and practice of Law? In the process of understanding and interpreting Law, do we draw in entirely insignificant "authors", "theories", "concepts", "terms", "ideas" and "methods", thereby "contaminating" the content of Law and making apt and clear answers in Law impossible? Have we, in our search for simple answers, lost the capacity to understand complex things? Identifying foundational legal ideas and analysing them realistically is the first step towards an honest and intellectually rigorous legal discussion about a just and workable Law. The book is meant to be the beginning of a good discussion.

What book are you reading at the moment?

Once I have finished writing my own book, the first thing I want to do is acquaint myself with Salomėja Jastrumskytė's "The Aesthetics of Synaesthesia". Aesthetics is a particular area of interest for me, one that allows me to rest from practical reality. The lack – or absence – of a perception of the limits of the philosophical level of the aesthetic gaze, of reflection, ethics and freedom of self-expression evokes in me both a fear of not knowing and the beauty of new discoveries.

https://www.mab.lt/dr-jauniaus-gumbio-mintys/