Saturday, March 30, 2019

 

A Qualm of Boredom

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), Of Human Bondage, chapter XV:
The dead languages were taught with such thoroughness that an old boy seldom thought of Homer or Virgil in after life without a qualm of boredom; and though in the common room at dinner one or two bolder spirits suggested that mathematics were of increasing importance, the general feeling was that they were a less noble study than the classics. Neither German nor chemistry was taught, and French only by the form-masters; they could keep order better than a foreigner, and, since they knew the grammar as well as any Frenchman, it seemed unimportant that none of them could have got a cup of coffee in the restaurant at Boulogne unless the waiter had known a little English.



<< Home
Newer›  ‹Older

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?