Pendentives
Above each symbolic statue is a pendentive, formed by the curved triangular surfaces between the two arches that support the dome. Each pendentive is decorated with two winged figures, sculpted by Philip Martiny (1858–1927).
The figures, modeled as if half flying and half supported on the curve of the arches, hold between them a large tablet, carrying an inscription in gilt letters.
• Art
"AS ONE LAMP LIGHTS ANOTHER, NOR GROWS LESS, SO NOBLENESS ENKINDLETH NOBLENESS."
—James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)
• Commerce
"WE TASTE THE SPICES OF ARABIA YET NEVER FEEL THE SCORCHING SUN WHICH BRINGS THEM FORTH."
—Dudley North (1602–1677)
• History
"ONE GOD, ONE LAW, ONE ELEMENT, AND ONE FAR-OFF DIVINE EVENT, TO WHICH THE WHOLE CREATION MOVES."
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
• Law
"OF LAW THERE CAN BE NO LESS ACKNOWLEDGED, THAN THAT HER VOICE IS THE HARMONY OF THE WORLD."
—Richard Hooker (1554–1600)
• Philosophy
"THE INQUIRY, KNOWLEDGE, AND BELIEF OF TRUTH IS THE SOVEREIGN GOOD OF HUMAN NATURE."
— Bacon, Essays, Of Truth
• Poetry
"HITHER, AS TO THEIR FOUNTAIN, OTHER STARS REPAIRING, IN THEIR GOLDEN URNS DRAW LIGHTS."
—John Milton (1608–1674), Paradise Lost, vii, 364
• Religion
"WHAT DOTH THE LORD REQUIRE OF THEE, BUT TO DO JUSTLY, AND TO LOVE MERCY, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD?"
—Micah 6:8
• Science
"THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD; AND THE FIRMAMENT SHEWETH HIS HANDIWORK."
—Psalms 19:1