"The decorative motifs employed on the surrounding arcade are sea-plant
life and its animal evolution. The piers, arches, reeds and columns bear
legendary decorative motifs of the transition of plant to animal life in
the forms of tortoise and other shell motifs;--kelp and its analogy to
the prehistoric lobster, skate, crab and sea urchin. The water-bubble
motif is carried through all vertical members which symbolize the
Crustacean Period, which is the second stratum of the court.

"The third stratum, the prehistoric figures, surmounting the piers of
the arcade, also the first group over the tower entrance, show earliest
forms of human, animal, reptile and bird life, symbolizing the Stone Age
Period.

"The fourth stratum, the second group in the altar tower, symbolizes
human struggle for emancipation from ignorance and superstition, in
which Religion and War are dominating factors. The kneeling figures on
the side altar are similarly expressive. The torches above these
mediaeval groups symbolize the Dawn of Understanding. The chanticleers
on the finials surrounding the court symbolize the Christian Era. The
topmost figure of the altar symbolizes Intelligence, 'Peace on Earth,
Good Will Towards All,' the symbols of Learning and Industry at her
feet. The topmost figure surmounting the side altar symbolizes Thought.
The arched opening forming the enclosure of the altar contains
alternating masks expressing Intelligence and Ignorance in equal
measure, symbolizing the Peoples of the World. A gradual development to
the higher forms of plant life is expressed upward in the altar tower,
the conventionalized lily petal being the highest form."

This, then, is the lesson, the deepest and most spiritual attempted in