Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1914-1915, 1914-09-03
The Watchtower

The destruction which the up-todate
victorious army is visiting and threat
ening to visit on age-old treasures
may serve to reopen a debate which
ragged fiercely years ago: Is a work
of art of greater or less value than
a human life?
The two things not being converti-
BILE, of course, the answer coald never
be final. Things whlcl, ar not equal
to each other are not equal to ar equal
ity of valuation. A Venus de Milo can
not properly be set against a peasant
women of Belgian. A Winged Vic
tory cannot be measured by a German
soldier. Many of us arc convinced of
the greater value of the Venus, or the
Victory, even of it's greater right to
live, since it has made and would have
as the ages go OF for more abundant
life for many people. A work of art
which has endured through two chou
sand years has achieved an immortal
ity. The Milo Venus has a personal
ity, as the Mona Lisa so distinctly has.
These women are as definitely cstab-
lished in the thought and emotion Of
the world as Mary, Queen of Scots, or
Cleopatra. To remove them from the
world, by destroying, would be the
same thing as removing these two
queens from history.
History would be very different had
not Mary Queen and Cleopatra lived.
1t would be impossible to interpret
Roman or Scotch-English history were
all record of these women swept
away.
Even more subtle has been the in
fluence of the Venus and the Victory.
1t is difficult to speak of it, impossible
to guage it. But, when it is remem-
bered what the Mona Lisa has done to
men just as she sits there on the can
vas, something of what the Venus and
Victory have done, with less annun-
citation, may be felt. And these sta
tues have won the right to live. The
nations should be where they can in
sist on these treasures being kept for
the nations and for the generations.
Louvain and its Treasures.
Several weeks ago the officers of
the Louvre had the special treasures
Of the galleries removed to the base
INIT, where whatever bomb might de-
stroy the building would not be able
to bring destruction to these. Yet,
even so, it is not certain that the air.
ships of the Germans, which have
thrown bombs where they would,
could be persuaded not to plunge their
destruction into the very depths of
Paris.
Already the temper of the destroy
ers has been seen in its effect. The
destruction Of the town of Louvain
was altogether unnecessary for the
advance of the army, or for the pro-
lection Of the advance which had been
made. And what has happened to
Lauvain may we'll happen to any town
The wholesale wreckage of this me-
dieval city recalls nothing but medic
val methods Of warfare and destruc-
ton. The university of Louvain held
a considerable library, with precious
treasures, no doubt not duplicated in
any of the libraries of Europe. For
Lauvain, the university, was founded
in 1926, when manuscripts. were the
methods Of expressing and retaining
wisdom. There must have been many
manuscripts in this library which have
not been deciphered and used of his
torians,
Louvain conferred an interesting his
tory. It was the capitol of Brabant,
and Brabant was noted with more per-
sons than merely the Elsa of "Lohen-
grim" Yet whatever that was init
mate in Louvianian history can never
be told. No doubt, to very many per-
sons the history which is being made
today about Louvain is more interest
ing than any shadowy medieval past.
But after all, no one today is inter-
preting today's history but in the
light which the history Of yesterday.
Age of Vandals Return.
In the library of the university
there was a statue of Father Damien,
so Richard Harding Davis tells us
Fate after all has a sardonic sense
of humor. On the very day when the
Germans were firing Louvain, and
destroying this statue, which in itself
is not so valuable, the German terri
tory of the Samoan group was being
taken over by the English, the very is
land where Stevenson wrote his m
mortalizing essay on Father Damien
and made him one of the martyrs OF
modern times. Even contemporary
history seems to have a sense Of
irony.
1t is apparent that any treasure
any city, is at risk. Paris is already
a., =" -. -l- - l--r1.-.-.-.