Gutenberg Articles

Appearance

Excerpt ​

Excerpt from The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

And so, one fine day, a sexton with a key as large as that of Saint
Peter opened a mysterious door. "Ring the bell," he said, "when you come
back and want to get out," and with a great grinding of rusty old hinges
he separated us from the noise of the busy street and locked us into a
world of new and strange experiences.

For the first time in my life I was confronted by the phenomenon of
audible silence. When we had climbed the first flight of stairs, I added
another discovery to my limited knowledge of natural phenomena--that of
tangible darkness. A match showed us where the upward road continued.
We went to the next floor and then to the next and the next until I had
lost count and then there came still another floor, and suddenly we had
plenty of light. This floor was on an even height with the roof of the
church, and it was used as a storeroom. Covered with many inches of
dust, there lay the abandoned symbols of a venerable faith which had
been discarded by the good people of the city many years ago. That which
had meant life and death to our ancestors was here reduced to junk and
rubbish. The industrious rat had built his nest among the carved images
and the ever watchful spider had opened up shop between the outspread
arms of a kindly saint.

The next floor showed us from where we had derived our light. Enormous
open windows with heavy iron bars made the high and barren room the
roosting place of hundreds of pigeons. The wind blew through the iron
bars and the air was filled with a weird and pleasing music. It was
the noise of the town below us, but a noise which had been purified and
cleansed by the distance. The rumbling of heavy carts and the clinking
of horses' hoofs, the winding of cranes and pulleys, the hissing sound
of the patient steam which had been set to do the work of man in
a thousand different ways--they had all been blended into a softly
rustling whisper which provided a beautiful background for the trembling
cooing of the pigeons.

Explanation ​

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon ​

Context of the Source ​

Hendrik Willem van Loon (1882–1944) was a Dutch-American historian and journalist best known for his accessible, engaging writing style, particularly in The Story of Mankind (1921), a sweeping history of human civilization written for a general audience. The book won the first Newbery Medal (1922) for children’s literature, though its appeal extends to adults. Van Loon’s work blends historical narrative with personal reflection, often using vivid imagery and a conversational tone to make history feel immediate and relatable.

This excerpt appears to describe a personal experience—likely van Loon’s own—of exploring an abandoned church tower. The passage is rich in sensory detail and symbolic weight, reflecting broader themes of time, decay, and the transience of human beliefs.

Themes in the Excerpt ​

  1. The Passage of Time and Decay

    • The church tower is a relic of the past, filled with "abandoned symbols of a venerable faith" now reduced to "junk and rubbish." The dust, rats, and spiders suggest neglect and the inevitable decay of what was once sacred.
    • The contrast between the once-revered religious artifacts and their current state underscores how human values and institutions erode over time.

  2. The Contrast Between the Sacred and the Mundane

    • The "venerable faith" that once meant "life and death" to ancestors is now ignored, replaced by the practical concerns of modern life (the "noise of the busy street").
    • The pigeons, rats, and spiders inhabiting the tower symbolize nature reclaiming what humans have abandoned, blurring the line between the divine and the earthly.

  3. Transformation and Perspective

    • The ascent through darkness into light mirrors a journey of discovery—both physical (climbing the tower) and metaphorical (gaining new insight).
    • The "weird and pleasing music" of the city, transformed by distance, suggests that perspective alters reality. What is chaotic at street level becomes harmonious from above, implying that history and truth are often a matter of viewpoint.

  4. The Intersection of Nature and Human Industry

    • The wind, pigeons, and industrial sounds (carts, steam, cranes) coexist in the tower, symbolizing the interplay between natural forces and human progress.
    • The "patient steam" doing "the work of man" reflects the Industrial Revolution’s impact, a recurring theme in van Loon’s broader historical narrative.

Literary Devices and Stylistic Choices ​

  1. Sensory Imagery

    • Auditory: "Audible silence," "weird and pleasing music," "softly rustling whisper," "trembling cooing of the pigeons" – van Loon immerses the reader in sound, contrasting the tower’s quiet with the city’s distant hum.
    • Tactile: "Tangible darkness," "many inches of dust," "grinding of rusty old hinges" – these details make the scene visceral, emphasizing the physicality of decay.
    • Visual: "Covered with many inches of dust," "outspread arms of a kindly saint," "enormous open windows" – the imagery paints a vivid picture of neglect and forgotten grandeur.

  2. Symbolism

    • The Church Tower: Represents the past, tradition, and the decline of religious influence in modern life.
    • The Key and Locked Door: Suggests access to hidden knowledge or a portal to the past, much like history itself.
    • The Pigeons and Rats: Symbolize the persistence of life amid decay, as well as the indifference of nature to human concerns.
    • The "Purified" City Noise: The transformation of chaos into harmony symbolizes how history and memory soften the harshness of the past.

  3. Juxtaposition

    • Light vs. Darkness: The climb from "tangible darkness" to "plenty of light" mirrors enlightenment or revelation.
    • Sacred vs. Profane: The "carved images" of saints now host spiders and rats, highlighting the shift from reverence to disregard.
    • Noise vs. Silence: The "audible silence" inside contrasts with the "weird music" of the city, emphasizing the tower as a liminal space between past and present.

  4. Personification

    • The "industrious rat," "ever watchful spider," and "patient steam" give agency to non-human elements, reinforcing the idea that time and nature are active forces shaping history.

  5. Metaphor and Simile

    • The key "as large as that of Saint Peter" (a reference to the gates of Heaven) suggests this journey is not just physical but almost spiritual.
    • The city’s noise "purified and cleansed by the distance" acts as a metaphor for how history softens and reframes the past.

Significance of the Passage ​

  1. Historical Reflection

    • Van Loon uses the tower as a microcosm of historical change. The discarded religious artifacts represent how societies evolve, leaving behind what once seemed eternal. This aligns with The Story of Mankind’s broader theme: civilization is a series of transformations, not a fixed narrative.

  2. The Historian’s Perspective

    • The passage embodies van Loon’s approach to history—personal, sensory, and reflective. He doesn’t just recount facts; he invites readers to experience the past through imagination.
    • The "purified" city noise suggests that history is not just a record of events but a reinterpretation, shaped by distance and perspective.

  3. Existential and Philosophical Undertones

    • The decay of the church’s symbols raises questions about the permanence of human achievements. What we cherish today may become tomorrow’s "junk."
    • The pigeons and rats thriving amid the ruins imply that life persists regardless of human meaning—a subtle commentary on the insignificance of individual beliefs in the grand scheme.

  4. Literary Influence

    • Van Loon’s blend of memoir and history prefigures later works like A Room of One’s Own (Woolf) or The Rings of Saturn (Sebald), where personal exploration becomes a lens for broader cultural analysis.
    • The passage’s lyrical quality and attention to detail influence how historical nonfiction can be both informative and artistically compelling.

Line-by-Line Analysis of Key Moments ​

  1. "Ring the bell... when you come back and want to get out"

    • The sexton’s instruction frames the tower as a temporary escape from the modern world, a place where time behaves differently. The bell becomes a symbol of return—to reality, to the present.

  2. "Audible silence" and "tangible darkness"

    • These oxymorons heighten the uncanny atmosphere. Silence isn’t absence of sound but a presence; darkness isn’t just lack of light but something felt.

  3. "That which had meant life and death to our ancestors was here reduced to junk and rubbish."

    • A stark reminder of how quickly cultural values shift. The phrase "life and death" emphasizes the gravity of what’s been lost, making the decay more poignant.

  4. "The wind blew through the iron bars and the air was filled with a weird and pleasing music."

    • The "iron bars" could symbolize the constraints of history or the frameworks through which we interpret the past. The "music" is the past’s echo, distorted but beautiful.

  5. "The rumbling of heavy carts... the hissing sound of the patient steam..."

    • The catalog of industrial sounds grounds the passage in the early 20th century, when machinery was reshaping society. The "patient steam" personifies technology as both servant and force of change.

Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters ​

This excerpt is a masterclass in historical storytelling. Van Loon doesn’t just describe a climb up a tower; he uses it to explore:

  • The fragility of human institutions (religion, tradition).
  • The power of perspective (how distance transforms chaos into harmony).
  • The inevitability of change (decay, renewal, and the cyclical nature of history).

His prose is immersive and symbolic, making the past feel immediate while inviting readers to reflect on their own place in the continuum of time. In The Story of Mankind, such passages serve as bridges between the personal and the historical, reminding us that history is not just about dates and events but about how we experience the echoes of the past in our present.