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In Raphael's School of Athens Aristotle and Plato are discussing something. Plato is pointing to the heavens arguing, perhaps, for the sublime perfection of the ideal. Aristotle, on the other hand, is gesturing outwards as if to say that we CAN know truth and beauty by lookiing around us; that we can even penetrate to the very nature of things by the power of observation.

Here is Dalrymple's first paragraph again:

...Everyone knows la douce France: the France of wonderful food and wine, beautiful landscapes, splendid châteaux and cathedrals. More tourists (60 million a year) visit France than any country in the world by far....

Whether the francophobes around here like it or not---this is true. And what is the most immediately observabledifference between la belle France and that other France which he so brilliantly writes about in this article?

As somebody--I forget who--said: "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists." I believe "terrorists" have been waging war against human beings on many fronts long before Osama ever minced his way onto the world scene. And architecture is evidence of it...

As somebody--I forget who--said: "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists."

Let me refresh your memory, it was President Bush.

Nice quotes, nice photos, but none with any relevance to the situation described in this article.

I believe "terrorists" have been waging war against human beings on many fronts long before Osama ever minced his way onto the world scene. And architecture is evidence of it...

I believe Osama did more than "mince" onto the scene, there are 3,000 dead bodies to attest to that fact. You present no compelling argument to support your statement. Architecture is now equal to waging war against humans and terrorism? What a leap - and into a bottomless pit of muddled rhetoric, at that.

I believe "terrorists" have been waging war against human beings on many fronts long before Osama ever minced his way onto the world scene. And architecture is evidence of it...

Truer words were never spoken. The distraction from the real war is breathtaking. Even great Romans like Orual have been taken in by its intoxicating melodies...