Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-15
A Quota ton Criticized,
Of The Evening Star:


| Lovers of the beautiful are pleased with
| the imposing structure recently completed
for the Library of Congress. The edifice
| is unique In many respects and deserves
| the high place it holds in the estimation of
| the public
| The many fattering compliments paid by
| distinguished foreigners to American genius
| exhibited in its design and execution are
| not, it seems, undeserved.
| But in the selection Of inscriptions, in one
| instance at least, we seem to be unfor-
| tunate. In the entrance pavilion. second
| floor. north corridor. we find among the
| many beautiful quotations from famous
| authors this very inappropriate selection
| from Shakespeare:
| Ignorance is the curse of God,
| knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to
heaven
| The thought in the first line is erroneous
| and the second line is equally at fault
| Just one is looking upon that vast ex-
| panse of beauty and symmetry, so charm
| ing in every respect, so consonant with the
| inner sense of harmony, this hideous quo
| tation looms up specter-like and mars the
| pleasant emotions with which the very
soul IS enraptured. and the visitors mind
| despite his efforts to the contrary, fingers
| on this conspicuous contrast with the sur
| rounding atmosphere of almost supernai
! beauty.
! If the idea Of the first line is that, sub
| jectively, ignorance is the curse Of God,
we do not what philosophy Of life can
| remove it. The purpose in selecting this
| particular quotation, presumably, is to en-
| courage study and to put a premium upon
| acquired knowledge-a noble and worthy
| aim. But. man is not responsible for his
ignorance if it comes as curse for some
| reason unknown to him or for no reason
| at all All men have positive inclination
| to know, no matter how wicked they are;
| and this inclination Is universal. whether
| the knowledge sought is for good or for
l 10, vol hafx
| rance and SIM consequently there not
| like reasons for Furnishing the ignorant
| man and the sinful person.
| The second line gives us a new thought
| All the people of Christendom know about
! heaven is revealed to them in Christian
| literature and life. If the great dramatist
we cannot accept his means Of attaining
, it. for we are to obtain that heaven by
| a faith which Is the complement of a life
spent in service to God and man. If the
| idea is the Socratic one that If man really
| knows the right he will do it, then the
| thought In the first line is made void. for
| If ignorance Is the curse of God and man
| does wrong because he really does not know
the right he Is guiltless. If, on the other
| hand, the common view is accepted as to
| the import of the second line, then we
| cannot understand that the great poet
| meant the heaven of the Bible, since this
| Is not attained by knowledge per Sc. There
| fore. If the mind accepts the plain import
| of the couplet the one verse or line destroys
| the other, and we are left to muse upon the
| dissonance of the dual thought. We be-
| lieve that the American sense of beauty
| and harmony warrants the substitution Of
| a more appropriate quotation for the one
| in question. So long it remains there
people of culture and taste will, willingly
or unwillingly, observe this palpable blem-
| ish:
! That the selection is Shakesperean will
not be urged as defense l am sure for
there are hundreds of possible quotations
| from the great bard of the Avon that
| would not appeal to the common sense of
Is simply to have a quotation that shall
| accord with the surroundings and that
shall express noble thought. There are
possibly but few persons in America who
can see any appropriateness beauty in
the selection or any merit that entities
it to its prominent place in the finest and
most imposing library building in America,
IL not in the world.
August 80. JAMES r. L. DIGGS.