Know a Civilization by Whom It Honours, by Jonathon Van Maren

Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. (Esther 6:6)

This month, I’ve been working out of the Brussels office of this publication. I walk to work each morning from an apartment near the Palace of Justice, past a profusion of statuary—royalty, doctors, diplomats, artists. Most have long since been forgotten by those who pass by, but I’ve tried to read the often-faded names and descriptions at the base of each. One of my favourite things about European cities is the forgotten men of marble and stone that stand tall over traffic, a testament to G.K. Chesterton’s admonition that our traditions are a “democracy of the dead.” …

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