Saturday, February 18, 2017
A Baneful Notion
Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), "The Literary Influence of Academies" (discussing vagaries in spelling):
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Some people will say these are little things; they are not; they are of bad example. They tend to spread the baneful notion that there is no such thing as a high, "correct" standard in intellectual matters; that every one may as well take his own way; they are at variance with the severe discipline necessary for all real culture; they confirm us in habits of wilfulness and eccentricity, which hurt our minds, and damage our credit with serious people.
