Were it not for a certain priggishness which these places infuse into so
great a number of their _alumni_, genuine work would become dangerously
common. It is essential that by far the greater part of what is said or
done in the world should be so ephemeral as to take itself away quickly;
it should keep good for twenty-four hours, or even twice as long, but it
should not be good enough a week hence to prevent people from going on to
something else. No doubt the marvellous development of journalism in
England, as also the fact that our seats of learning aim rather at
fostering mediocrity than anything higher, is due to our subconscious
recognition of the fact that it is even more necessary to check
exuberance of mental development than to encourage it. There can be no
doubt that this is what our academic bodies do, and they do it the more
effectually because they do it only subconsciously. They think they are
advancing healthy mental assimilation and digestion, whereas in reality
they are little better than cancer in the stomach.
Let me return, however, to the Erewhonians. Nothing surprised me more
than to see the occasional flashes of common sense with which one branch
of study or another was lit up, while not a single ray fell upon so many
others.
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