Meliora Memories

Once upon a time in the Albany-Rensselaer Train Station, I got talking to a college admissions counselor. He asked, "Why did you decide to go to college at the University of Rochester?" Easy answer: the library. The library on campus presented itself as a massive institution of learning and the inscriptions on the exterior (see below) reinforced that. The building itself represented my romantic ideal of acquiring knowledge, transforming that knowledge into wisdom and therefore becoming a better person for having "learned." I guess that's why I also liked our school motto of "meliora," meaning "always better."

As my sister and I get ready to drive to Rochester, this time to drop her off at college for the first time, I thought I'd post some pictures of my beloved Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester campus.

Rush Rhees Library, River Campus, University of Rochester

To the left of the main entrance: "Here is the history of human ignorance, error, superstition, folly, war, and waste recorded by human intelligence for the admonition of wiser ages still to come."

The Doors of the Past: "The doors of the past open to those who seek to know what has been..."

"... the history of the stars, the earth, sunlight, life, and man's long journey."

Doors of the Present: "The doors of the present open to those who seek to know what man can do..."

"...to master his fate by science, sustain his spirit by art, and guide his life by wisdom."

Doors of the Future: "The doors of the future open to those who wonder what life may become..."

"...when men are free in body and in soul loving all beauty serving in many ways one God."

To the right of the main entrance: "Here is the history of man's hunger for truth, goodness, and beauty leading him slowly on through flesh to spirit from bondage to freedom from war to peace."

So much information... so many possibilities! To find out more on the Rush Rhees Library visit the library website and to find out more about the inscriptions click here.