Monday, February 25, 2013

Schools Matter: A Retabulation of Tables Already Tabulated

Schools Matter: A Retabulation of Tables Already Tabulated:


A Retabulation of Tables Already Tabulated

Excerpted from an essay in The New Age in 1917.  (Unabridged audio recordings of the parts of the essay at the links.)

Part I (sound file, 12:21)

Now, apart from intensive national propaganda, quite apart from German national propaganda, the 'university system' of Germany is evil.  It is evil wherever in penetrates.  Its 'universal pervasiveness' is a poisonous and most pestilent sort of pervasiveness.  The drug is insidious and attractive.

It is...the only system whereby every local nobody is able to imagine himself a somebody.  It is in essence a provincialism....

Its action in Germany was perfectly simple.  Every man of intelligence had that intelligence nicely switched on to some particular problem, some minute particular problem unconnected with life, unconnected with main principles (to use a detestable, much abused phrase).  By confining his attention...he could become at small