Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Carlyle on Academia

Thomas Carlyle on the French academy circa 1788:

“Alas, the Sorbonne still sits there, in its old mansion, but mumbles only jargon of dotage, and no longer leads the consciences of men: not the Sorbonne, it is Encyclopedias, Philosophic, and who knows what nameless multitude of ready Writers, profane Singers, Romancers, Players, Disputators, and Pamphleteers, that now form the Spiritual Guidance of the world.”

He could be talking about today!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Funny- I met a professor from the Sorbonne once who shared the exact same opinion of his peers. Some things never change.