...
The Greek of to-day (as we venture to define him) views all this
with some regret, and more concern. He sees that fine traditions
are withering, that fine things are being marred by ignorant
handling. He fears debasement, he hates vulgarity, and his realist
soul admits the high probability of both in a society whose
standards are broader than they are high. But he also sees new
energies let loose and new resources discovered; he recognizes new
forms of expression, uncouth or colloquial perhaps, but capable of
vitality and truth, and not without beauty. He bends his mind
toward them, knowing that if he ignores them their authors will
ignore him and his kind.
The Egyptian is afraid. He pulls his mantle closer about him and
walks by on the other side.
Here again is work for the liberal mind. If it is really liberal--
which means that training and disposition have made it free to
move through both the past and the present--it can cope with this
Egyptian barbarism; for liberal-minded lovers of literature, by
performing a very simple operation in psychoanalysis, can
understand how love for the good old times may cause fear lest we
lose their fruits, and how fear blinds the critic's eye, makes his
tongue harsh, and his judgment rigid as death.
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