인류 이야기.The Book of The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik van Loon

인류 이야기.The Book of The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik van Loon
For Hansje and Willem:
WHEN I was twelve or thirteen years old, an uncle of mine who gave me my love
for books and pictures promised to take me upon a memorable expedition. I was
to go with him to the top of the tower of Old Saint Lawrence in Rotterdam.
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.[ x]
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.