Of Wolves and Men

Hosannas to the artist-designed initial caps and the stories/poems [17 Voices literary supplement, April] that followed, aimed at lovers of literature and libraries and books and life. Oliver Nicholson’s fragrant essay of ancient library information and memories reminds me to emphasize as well the Hill Monastic Manuscript Library, located among the monks of St. John’s U. When Founding Executive Director Julian Plante told me twenty years ago about the project of microfilming the world’s one-of-a-kind monk-illuminated manuscripts, I was skeptical of the need. That was before the bombing of the library at Dubrovnik, then the Iraq National Library conflagration. Homo homini lupus—man is a wolf to man—we know that Roualt image of a hanged man in a charred landscape. But burned books—homo liber lupus? Unimaginable, and yet … So celebrate the new library—and keep it idiot-proof by reading, and reading The Rake.

James P. Lenfestey,
Minneapolis

James P. Len


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