OUR FACILE MASTERY OF ENGLISH 1 5 



for enjoying their works; while Ruskin's famous conclusion that the 

 kings of thought will have us dig deep and painfully for their gold 

 is only another example of his antiquarian sentimentality. But 

 withal, I do sometimes fear that the very easiness and assurance of 

 our mastery may turn out to be another phase of the lawlessness, the 

 slackness, the laziness of mind and the stultifying self-complacence 

 that arise so easily when a nation is prosperous without being dis- 

 ciplined, and literate without being educated. 



IV 



It is often hard to distinguish between a deplorable pseudodoxia 

 epidemica and a genuine aesthetic impulse begotten by the changing 

 manifestations of the Spirit of the World ; and eventually there may 

 be a complete triumph for the countless good Americans who uncon- 

 sciously or deliberately disdain orderliness of language and belittle 

 the sacred heights of Parnassus. But, whatever be the outcome, it is 

 well to have a considerable remnant that shall contend for the old- 

 time religion. 



The ancient Greeks made purity of language an absolute sine 

 qua non for admission to the sacred mysteries that taught the way 

 of immortal life. Into the final significance of the requirement I 

 may not examine; but its rigorous application to our present thought 

 would clearly exclude from heaven any American that did not speak 

 good English. Now it is an invidious task to lay down terms for 

 passing the blissful gates. Some of us will have a pretty hard scurry 

 at the best. But it would seem reasonable to suggest that the 

 guardian should insist on a simple examination of all applicants who 

 profess to be educated, and might turn back all those who cannot 

 spell correctly, write and speak grammatically and enjoy a dainty bit 

 of prose or poetry. And all teachers who have labored in love to 

 spread the gospel shall sit among the blessed; whereas in the great 

 cold interspaces of the universe shall be heard the despairing wail of 

 all those who have advocated laxity and superficiality and learned 

 the truth only when it was too late. 



