May 7, 1852
I fear that the dream of toads will not sound so musical now that I know whence it proceeds. But I will not fear to know.
It's an old truism that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". Can the same be said of a lot of knowledge? Can you know too much? I'm reminded of the poem "An Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins. When he asks his students to respond to a poem, "all they want to do/ is tie the poem to a chair with rope/ and torture a confession out of it". Where did they get such an idea? From Dick Cheney? No, from their probably well-meaning English teachers.
So, is knowledge the enemy of beauty? Of spontaneity and whimsy? When we look to deeply into things the magic is revealed -- as pedestrian and ordinary, even as vile and repulsive.
But that's the type of magic as practiced by magicians: which is really deception and misdirection. To look closely at true beauty is to reveal even more and more beauty. To look closely and meter and diction -- to understand why "a host" of golden daffodils is the perfect choice for Wordsworth, to realize the "hours" of work that "seem a moment's thought"* -- only enhances the wonder and appreciation of readers. And Thoreau's world -- the world of nature -- is replete with deep and hidden wonders.
Knowledge may destroy mystery. But it increases reverence.
* -- see W.B. Yeats/ "Adam's Curse"
It's an old truism that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". Can the same be said of a lot of knowledge? Can you know too much? I'm reminded of the poem "An Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins. When he asks his students to respond to a poem, "all they want to do/ is tie the poem to a chair with rope/ and torture a confession out of it". Where did they get such an idea? From Dick Cheney? No, from their probably well-meaning English teachers.
So, is knowledge the enemy of beauty? Of spontaneity and whimsy? When we look to deeply into things the magic is revealed -- as pedestrian and ordinary, even as vile and repulsive.
But that's the type of magic as practiced by magicians: which is really deception and misdirection. To look closely at true beauty is to reveal even more and more beauty. To look closely and meter and diction -- to understand why "a host" of golden daffodils is the perfect choice for Wordsworth, to realize the "hours" of work that "seem a moment's thought"* -- only enhances the wonder and appreciation of readers. And Thoreau's world -- the world of nature -- is replete with deep and hidden wonders.
Knowledge may destroy mystery. But it increases reverence.
* -- see W.B. Yeats/ "Adam's Curse"
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