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Saturday 28 December 2013

Not altogether faulty

Ambrose Bierce - from Wikipedia

I do not hold that the political and social system that creates an aristocracy of leisure is the best possible kind of human organization; I perceive its disadvantages clearly enough. But I do hold that a system under which most important public trusts, political and professional, civil and military ecclesiastical and secular, are held by educated men — that is, men of trained faculties and disciplined judgment — is not an altogether faulty system.

Ambrose Bierce

A telling phrase that - important public trusts. It's a pity we drift away from such phrases because so often we are the poorer for it.

It seems to be a common feature of mainstream media - casually dumping useful bits and pieces of language as the elite shy away from everything but ambiguity.

2 comments:

James Higham said...

How many dictionaries did he actually do?

A K Haart said...

James - one as far as I know.