The Book as Idol
May 18, 2011
JEFF W. writes:
To me these corpses of books are modern-day versions of the Roman household gods, theLares and Penates.
Robert Graves in his book The White Goddess said that there are three spirits of the modern age: Apollo the god of knowledge and science, Pluto the god of wealth, and Mercury the god of thieves. These fake books are idols or talismans invoking Apollo the god of knowledge. In the minds of many modern people, scientific human knowledge is much superior to a backward, superstitious Jesus or a sadistic Jehovah. That is why some atheists call themselves “the Brights.” I also notice that guests on TV talk shows often sit or stand in front of a loaded bookshelf. That symbolic display marks the guest as a devotee of Apollo.
With a fake book display, modern people express their devotion to the knowledge cult. With a Sunday New York Times filled with wealth porn photography, they invoke the god Pluto. By supporting Obama or Clinton, they demonstrate their allegiance to the god of liars and thieves. Robert Graves was not right about everything, but in identifying the spirits of the modern age I believe he hit the bulls-eye.
In our home, we have Christians symbols because we honor the Creator God. The bookshelves contain only books that we have read. We feel no need to display idols invoking those gods that Graves called “the unholy triumvirate.”
