![]() ![]() ![]() On one matter they agree, shun anything suspiciously like a religious point of view in the course of interpreting works of literature. Those seeking to discover the modern equivalent of the Tower of Babel would do well to seek it here.-the perfect setting for dogmatic advocates of the most disparate and contentious points of view, finding perhaps only in the speakers at Hyde Park Corner true fellow spirits. I limit my discussion to the coterie of scholars, experts, pundits and critics that occupy the domain of literary criticism. " Unfortunately the absent consensus on the existence and the nature of such an authority prevents the wise of our day from claiming a divine warrant for their expostulations, whatever these might be. Combining these allusions, might we derive from the title the implication that academics could do more to apply their intelligence and their vast fund of wisdom to the problems that face humanity in a far from happy world? In earlier times prophets and poets could still claim an authority of divine origin, the authority of 'the Word. " Ivory towers " belong to the domain of the Ivy League and similar august university locations. There can be no doubt that it alludes to the popular notion that Nero indulged in lyrical pursuits while he viewed the fire that destroyed much of ancient Rome. "Much fiddling in the Ivory Tower while Rome Burns" Let me say a word on the above rather odd title. ![]()
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