The proposal of a humanist, open and public library patrons but offered a cautious king and determined to control all the spaces of power. A work that reveals the end of ideals at the center of the Spanish Golden Age.

In this pioneering obrita to Philip II on whether to build a large public library, the humanist Juan Paez de Castro reveals the ideals of a brilliant generation of intellectuals imbued with a sense of knowing, one way to approach books and open dissemination of knowledge itself monarchical power was already being called into question. "Because of bookstores they lost many nations the name barbaric and many cities were frequented by the leading men of the world and ennobled studios and universities." "So, whoever sees those rooms may think that you have sojourned as principal of the universe."