There is that other phrase, "high-brow," by which the indolent
seek to escape the effort of appreciating difficult things. The defenders of this infantile phrase contend that it applies only to certain forms of pedantry and does not apply to the more serious attainments of human genius. This is not true. Many thousands of young men and women have found in this phrase an excuse for ignoring these attain- ments, and for relapsing, without the slightest qualm of intel- lectual conscience, into the effortless enjoyment of unim- portant things. I do not mean by this that average people should pretend to enjoy works of art, literature or music which are beyond their understanding. All I contend is that the unscrupulous use of this phrase tends to diminish respect for the higher levels of human thought and imagination.
* *
Previous page
