Ivanhoe

Good vs. evil may be the primary conflict of a story or in the case of Ivanhoe a subplot.  Scott is not an author who would label a Saxon or a Norman as evil simply because the individual is a Saxon or a Norman.  As he says in Ivanhoe, "For he that does good, having the unlimited power to do evil, deserves praise not only for the good which he performs, but for the evil which he forbears."   There is always the possibility of taking this a step further and ask why is there evil or why does a god allow terrible evils to exist  especially in professions which claim to represent that god.  Boethius addressed this when he said: 

Si quidem deus est, unde mala?  Bona vero unde, si non est?  Boethius Consolation of Philosophy I.4.  

Scott stated in Ivanhoe, "We are like the herb which flourisheth most when trampled upon."

These are not random quotes but rather related thoughts that are worthy of discussion while reading Scott.  Ivanhoe was once required reading but apparently teachers tired of this classic.  Unfortunately, books like Abraham Lincoln the Vampire Hunter are replacing it.  

Will you read Ivanhoe or allow it to be removed from the library shelves and be claimed by the book wraith?