The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-10-24
London World
The Ignorance of Educated Men.

The Ignorance OF Educated Men.
Even shrewd and clear-headed men of the
world, who are supposed to be au courant with
everything and who have great opportunities
of picking up miscellaneous information at
their disposal, exhibit a degree Eof nescience
upon a host of matters, certainly not wanting
in breadth of popularity of interest, which is
little less than astounding. They have, per-
haps, correct apprehension of the motives
and the character of the latest joint stock COM
pany; but on politics, foreign or domestic, on
any question connected with literature, science,
art, or history, they have not single idea ex-
cept such as are derived from the newspapers,
which give them their sole mental pabulum. 1t
is surprising how high men of real brains and
application may climb in professions that are
learned and intellectual, and yet how infnites-
finally little they pick up of general culture
or of insight into the rationale of events, past
or contemporary. There are, of course, in Eng
land hundreds of lawyers whose minds are en-
bellshed with every kind of knowledge whose
intellectual treasure house is rich in multi
tude of delicate thoughts and fancies, who have
travelled widely, seen much, heard much, for
gotten nothing; who would have been bishops
if they had gone into the church, and kwould
have won for themselves the highest niche in
the temple of fame if they had taken to litera-
ture Yet lawyers, as a rule, whether bariS-
tiers or advocates, are not men eminent for in
tellectual accomplishments. Their converse
ton alternateS between shop and slang. As
much almost may be said of the politicians of
the period. The average member of Parlia-
ment is one of the most unideaed, unintellec-
tual people imaginable. He can talk to the
House and he can sometimes talk over his con-
stituents Very likely he belongs to the Gar
rick or the AthenRum, but in general society
he is nearly speechless, and when he tries to be
facetious in al country house his best Ejokes
are memories of Closets room. The society of
artists and actors is, in these days, greatly ap-
preciated by many persons of consideration.
They are found to be SO amusing, SO clever, SO
witty, so original, so quaint. In many instan-
ces these qualities may be forthcoming, but &C
tors and artists are not, as rule, diverting as
companions or highly educated as men. The
president of the Royal academy is a conspicu-
GUS exception to the rule-a man who might
have achieved greatness in any walk of life on
which he had entered. But the general tenden-
cy is for painters practically to interpret
Tennyson's line "an artist, sir, should live in
art in sense very different from that in
which it was originally meant Artists are apt
to live for the incessant turning out OF pot
boilers; and if they are once removed from
their studio and its associations, they are with
out the materials of conversation. Like actors
they lack that flexibility of mind which bends
hself to any subject, and that catholicity OF
spirit which can take an interest in every
theme. This is not really the fault either OF
the actor or the artist, any more than 1t is OF
the doctor, the lawyer or the politician.
The atmosphere of the best society in the pres
sent day is the reverse of intellectual.