The U.S.A.— A European Appraisal

For its competition of 1782 The Academy of Lyon posed the question: “Has the discovery of America proved useful or harmful to the human race?”

For its competition of 1782 The Academy of Lyon posed the question: “Has the discovery of America proved useful or harmful to the human race?” I do not know how the contestants dealt with this subject, but I can relate a more recent, non-literary reply murmured from the gallery of the Marigny Theatre where the Jean Louis Barrault-Madeline Renaud Company is presenting Paul Claudel’s Christopher Columbus. The Opponent is mocking Christopher Columbus, of whom he says, “He didn’t know what he had discovered.” At this point a young man at my side, apparently a student, muttered rather audibly, “If he had known. . . .” The audience broke into smiles.

This, of course, is a...