Even Russell’s greatest logical work may be forgotten in a century.

Evidence

I can remember Bertrand Russell telling me of a horrible dream. He was in the top floor of the University Library, about A.D. 2100. A library assistant was going round the shelves carrying an enormous bucket, taking down book after book, glancing at them, restoring them to the shelves or dumping them into the bucket. At last he came to three large volumes which Russell could recognize as the last surviving copy of Principia mathematica. He took down one of the volumes, turned over a few pages, seemed puzzled for a moment by the curious symbolism, closed the volume, balanced it in his hand and hesitated… — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 165

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to Hardy’s core anxiety in the apology about mathematical immortality and whether great work survives; also ties to the reader’s question of what Hardy feels guilty about.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — G. H. Hardy, A Mathematician’s Apology, 165