"Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise..." When 18th C English poet Thomas Gray scratched out those lines, he had no way of knowing how this 21st C reader has come to embrace them. Not just poetically, but philosophically. What's more, this reader invites other readers to consider it as their own secret garden from the storms of knowledge pounding outside our gates.
Knowledge -- in and of itself -- is to be desired and admired. Anyone who has invested 40 years in the classrooms of knowledge must attest to that fact. And yet, in gaining knowledge, something must yield to make room for it. Is that not Gray's blissful ignorance...?
A prima facie case comes to mind: That terrible knowledge about Santa which stoutly obliges us to dismiss all those happy little ignorances about a jolly red rider....sleighs in the night...reindeers that can fly....and gifts nested beneath great green trees. Frankly, I still hate the little jerk who smugly shared his 2nd grade knowledge with me!
And what about today's exponentially growing body of scientific knowledge? It is surely good that we now understand how our planet spins in space, how weather can be predicted, and how germs can be defeated. On the other side of the knowledge ledger, some of us feel cursed -- yes, that's my name for it! -- cursed with the knowledge that no one lives in the moon....stars are not telling us something....winds in the night are not the whispers of loved ones, simply the results of something called a trans-Canadian current!
At one time, thick red steaks and fatty donuts were fun. Napping instead of jogging was acceptable. Burning autumn leaves on the fragrant altar of our curb-sides was a dreamy liturgy, not an ordinance violation. Cigars and chocolate and cholesterol were pleasures without penalties. Oh, and our knowledge of priests and ministers and rabbis was happily limited to what they stood for more than what they stumbled over!
Good minds will protest -- ignorance is humanity's chains. Gentle hearts may counter -- when ignorance 'tis bliss, perhaps this bliss trumps brash. Sweet lies taste better than hard truths. It's that ancient head/heart thing. Which to fill more? Head raises us above the animals, but heart warms us against the cold. It's never an either/or; mainly, a which/when.
Which part of our being to rely on when a choice is to be made. As for me (and possibly Thomas Gray) a sharp wind in the night tells my head to put on a coat. But those peculiar shadows racing across the moon tell my heart that my books have not yet slain all of the night's mystery and magic....
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Ah Jack,Yesterday you expressed nostalgia for the days when "history could easily finger the forces at work." I thought, at first that desire for simplicity contradicted today's essay, but maybe I have it backwards.
ReplyDeleteLeonard ~ You give me reason to pause. Perhaps you're right. Altho it was not my intention to conflate the two themes. At least for me, I can cherish simplicity and ignorance both at the same time. For this old-timer, each kinda helps to cushion my life a bit. But hey now we have our first exchange over dinner...!
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