Sunday, February 14, 2016

In The Fountainhead, what is the meaning of Toohey's footnote about Henry Cameron?

Ellsworth Toohey's book on architecture does not name
architects in the text, claiming that to single them out would be dishonest and immoral.
Instead, they are named in footnotes. One of these footnotes mentions Henry Cameron, the
man who acts as Howard Roark's mentor:


readability="10">

One note referred to Henry Cameron, "prominent
once as one of the fathers of the so-called modern school of architecture and relegated
since to a well-deserved oblivion. Vox populi vox
dei.
"
(Rand, The Fountainhead, Google
Books)



With this dismissal,
Toohey demonstrates his belief and expectations that the will of the people, and more
importantly the collective memory, counteracts the will of the individual. The Latin at
the end translates to "The voice of the people is the voice of God," and in this context
means that if Cameron is forgotten in public memory, he will no longer matter even to
history. Essentially, this is an attempt to marginalize and trivialize Cameron and his
work, and since many people will read and quote the book, Toohey's opinion will be
echoed and even believed by the public as a whole. In this manner, he keeps public
opinion focused on "traditional" architecture based on old principles and old
designs.

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