From the Dedication of Anabel Taylor Hall as an Interfaith Center and World War II Memorial:
"I have referred
to the slow advance of civilization, and have said that we are dedicating this memorial to our dead of the recent war. We
recall with sorrow massacres and degradations visited upon civilian populations, mosty of a single race, at the behest of
a fanatical leader who attained a brief but dreadful power over millions in Europe. These horrors, occurring in our time and
as part of our boasted civilization, are not to be forgotten. Nor are these loyal sons of Cornell to be forgotten who gave
their all to check and punish such wanton disregard of human life. Their sacrifice entitles them to a lasting memorial, that
those who follow should see and recognize the danger to civilization and to mankind when too great power is entrusted to a
single man or a single group of men."
"We are assembled here to dedicate this enduring structure, erected to the glory of God, to honor Cornellians' recent war
dead, and perpetuate in the name of Anabel Taylor Hall this gift to Cornell University. We here honor in this edifice and
its companion building, Myron Taylor Hall, the majestic spiritual dynamic of human liberty under law, of which God is the
fountain-head. From that eternal spring of our slowly advancing civilization should flow peace, concord and understanding,
in which man may be purged of hate, shall be refreshed in his soul by religious faith, and shall abide on God's footstool
joyfully and unafraid."
-Myron C. Taylor
October 26, 1952
The memorial symbolize not merely sorrow for those who have gone but determination
to carry forward their struggle for a durable peace. Therefore, the program in the Interfaith Center, as well as the memorial
features, will exemplify the hope of bringing humanity together through the cooperative efforts of the educational and religious
forces of the world.
The program will be based on these convictions: that it is of prime importance to maintain a positive faith in the values
at the heart of our way of life; that the chief source of this faith has been the common ethical teachings of the great religions;
and that this common core of beliefs has central importance in any effort to use all the resources of American life in the
cause of international good will. If our democratic faith is held with courage based on religious conviction, efforts toward
international understanding will follow.
In this building dedicated to help future Cornellians renew the spiritual sources of their democratic faith, students will
increase their understanding of what their religious heritage has meant for human freedom. Here students will learn how to
live and work for a common cause with all people from all faiths, races, and countries.
