The Study of Literature

The earliest written narratives were almost always religious: creation myths, prayers, psalms, and parables that have become touchstones within — and even beyond — their cultures. Some have endured for millennia, even outliving the gods they celebrate, due to their poetic beauty and the elemental truths of human nature they express.

Benno Loewy

An active Freemason and appeals lawyer from New York City, Benno Loewy’s interests spread far beyond his law classes at Columbia University. In addition to books on law, his personal library contained over 50,000 items related to the Freemasons, theater, culture, and literature. Loewy had no affiliation with Cornell, but bequeathed his collection to the University library in 1919 because of its nonsectarian stance. It arrived in train cars in 1923, after four years of litigation.

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