more tender and faithful than the heart of man. The earth gives to you when you give to it; as for man — how vile the ingratitude in his nature!

Youssef Howayek chose for himself seclusion from people, to shield his delicate sensibilities from being wounded and his self-respect from being injured... And here he is: after spending thirty years of his youth — and what a youth this elegant elder must have had! — in study and work, as a student of art and as a sculptor, until he reached a high rank in art and was given the post of professor at the French Academy... here he is, returning to his country, whose sky and earth he loved, and for whose existence he fought with the zeal of a free patriot, only to meet from its government and its people nothing but false looks, holding no recognition of his art and no appreciation of it!.. So he withdraws, wounded to the core, to a village of his, far from the towns, where none see him but those who take on hardships to reach him — and these are a few individuals... a tiny fraction of his Lebanese brethren!... And after this we have the right to claim civilization and learning!!! Is it not shame upon shame that we should possess this artistic treasure... that we should have Howayek, and not lift him high to boast of him before the world, and fill his granaries with wheat and his jars with oil and honey??

The artist Youssef Howayek in contemplation...

But the truth is that in art we are still illiterates!!

Q — And what is the cause of this illiteracy? I ask the artist, and the answer of the deep-searching historian comes:

A — Man by instinct expresses his thoughts in lines and colors. Perhaps

Two of Howayek's nudes, carved in Lebanese stone; between them can be seen some of his working tools

Minerva, goddess of wisdom among the Greeks

... what an air her radiant smile spreads through Howayek's room