The Silence wasn’t to be Feared

In Lancelot, one of Walker Percy’s final novels, the narrator reflects on his own struggle with idleness and addiction to entertainment. In a poignant scene set outside his Mississippi mansion, the narrator halts and steps outside of his insulated existence. For the first time in years, he simply stands still, free from distractions. He asks, “Can a man stand alone, naked, and at his ease, wrist flexed at his side like Michelangelo’s David, without assistance, without diversion . . . in…