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International 4-8818
Led by Collective 0-0009, the World Council of Scholars is the group in charge of all scholarly affairs in Equality 7-2521’s collectivist society. The group and its members are meant to illustrate what Rand perceived as the weak, spineless, and inefficient nature of collectivism. When Equality 7-2521 presents his light bulb to the Council, they condemn him as an arrogant, selfish sinner for trying to better mankind by acting alone. Because the light bulb was not invented collectively, they conclude that it must be evil endeavor to destroy it and punish Equality 7-2521; however, they are thwarted when Equality 7-2521 escapes with his invention.
The World Council of Scholars Quotes in Anthem
The Anthem quotes below are all either spoken by The World Council of Scholars or refer to The World Council of Scholars. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars who are elected by all men for their wisdom. Yet we can. We do. We have fought against saying it, but now it is said. We do not care. We forget all men, all laws and all things save our metals and our wires. So much is still to be learned! So long a road lies before us, and what care we if we must travel it alone!
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In Equality's society, all knowledge is controlled by a group of Scholars--a supposedly wise body of elders who control the sum of humanity's knowledge and wisdom. As Equality makes very clear, his own intelligence and wisdom now seems to outstrip that of the Scholars: where the Scholars believe that candles are the best light source, Equality has discovered that there's a much better one, the light bulb.The passage draws a distinction between the philosophy of the Scholars--to accept the current state of knowledge and refuse to discover anything new--and that of Equality--to be curious and constantly discover new information. The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi nece
Chapter 7 Quotes
"A Street Sweeper! A Street Sweeper walking in upon the World Council of Scholars! It is not to be believed! It is against all the rules and all the laws!"
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Equality presents his light bulb before the Home of the Scholars, but to his amazement, the Scholars don't celebrate Equality's invention; on the contrary, they consider it dangerous and pointless. Here, the Scholars condemn Equality for daring to appear before the Scholars--Equality is just a humble Street Sweeper, who should know his place.Up to this point, it was possible to believe that Equality's society was sincerely committed to the principles of equality and cooperation. Here, however, it becomes clear that the opposite is true. Whatever lip-service Equality's society pays to equality, it's obvious that the Scholars look down on certain Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Duc
"What is not thought by all men cannot be true."
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At the World Council of Scholars, Equality presents his discovery of the light bulb, only to be angrily criticized. The Scholars dislike Equality for daring to pursue scientific research on his own. Equality's behavior illustrates his individualism--and therefore it infuriates the Council.The Scholars ignore the fact that Equality has discovered something that's useful to all people--instead, they focus on the fact that Equality has discovered his invention on his own. In this passage, the Scholars sum up their opposition to Equality's behavior: Equality has dared to think something new, and therefore, he must be lying.The passage proves that Equality's society Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati.
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The World Council of Scholars Character Timeline in Anthem
The timeline below shows where the character The World Council of Scholars appears in Anthem. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...his discovery so that all men can use it. Next month, the World Council of Scholars will meet in his City, and he will present his light bulb to them. He...
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Chapter 6
...imprisoned for many days. Finally, Equality 7-2521 decides to escape, because the World Council of Scholars is scheduled to meet the next day. He easily breaks the old locks on the...
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Chapter 7
...is ripped apart by the forest beasts. He describes appearing before the World Council of Scholars that morning and greeting them. The luminaries are aghast to find that a Street Sweeper...
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The Scholars tell Equality 7-2521 that his invention—and his presumption that it will help empower mankind—go against...
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