That had been holding mankind back for so long, the reformers prepare toįace their perfect future. Had given holy utterance on so many a Sabbath day.Īnd so, purified in the flame, and rid of all of the hoary old thoughts Of the pulpit, and whence the pastor's solemn voice Or had grown childishly weary of- fell the ponderousĬhurch Bible, the great old volume, that had lain so long on the cushion It was done! Upon the blazing heap of falsehoodĪnd worn-out truth- things that the earth had never needed, or had ceased Was but a voice from a lower sphere, as regarded the present race of man? Which, though a celestial revelation to past ages,
Remained to be thrown upon the embers of that awful pile, except the Book, S the final sacrifice of human error, what else Of Western civilization, until even the Bible is added : The clerical vestments and the church buildings entire, all the accretions Soldiers, the weapons, the fashionable clothing, the liquor and tobacco, The titles and insignias of rank, the decorations and medals bestowed upon I made it convenient to journey thither and be present.Īs our narrator watches, into the flames go all of literature and art, Reveal some profundity or moral truth, heretofore hidden in mist or darkness, Likewise, that the illumination of the bonfire might Having a taste for sights of this kind, and imagining, Where no human habitation would be endangered by the flames, and whereĪ vast assemblage of spectators might commodiouslyĪdmire the show. Globe, was one of the broadest prairies of the West, Of the insurance companies, and as being as central a spot as any other The site fixed upon, at the representation Trumpery, that the inhabitants determined to rid themselves of it by aīonfire. So overburthened with an accumulation of worn-out Time to come, is a matter of little or no moment- this wide world had become Once upon a time - but whether in the time past or The story concerns a massive bonfire in which the people of the world,Ĭonvinced that their modern society has reached a state of near perfection,ĭetermine to burn up all the outdated old knowledge from Man's dark past It's part of Hawthorne'sįrom an Old Manse collection, but it's also available Holocaust is one of the stories that Kirk particularly singles outįor its exploration of conservative themes. To be rereading Russell Kirk's great book, TheĬonservative Mind, in which he too extols the virtues of Hawthorne. That the President's Bioethics Council read Nathaniel Hawthorne's storyīirthmark, in preparation for their deliberations, I also happened By some happy coincidence, at around the same time that Leon Kass recommended
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