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PARTISAN REVIEW
might be
paideia.
It is not something to be brought down but some–
thing to which we can be raised. I am glad to be reminded by Mr.
Eliot that "a high degree of culture (or Education) in an . equali–
tarian society can only be attained if the great majority of men can
be raised to a level, and kept at a level, which has never been remotely
approached in the past." I agree. But, after reflecting upon it, I con–
clude that this very difficulty is no deterrent. High things are hard.
And I do not see how this greatest of human efforts
is
to be made
unless the salvation we are seeking
is
for all.
Mr. Eliot ends on a hopeful note.
"If
we can keep our minds
clear ... we shall be working for those changes which really matter."
How to
make
minds clear as well as keep them clear is, I suggest,
for us, as it was for Socrates, the key question. Education is an em–
bryonic study still.
THE MERMAIDS
(From
The Hunchbacked Flute-Player)
The Nereids beneath the nitid moon,
Having fatigued the mermen at the play
Of love and left them in an amorous swoon,
Throw to the waves their necklaces of spray,
Then dive to gardens secret to the noon:
Gardens where sea-gods lovers of the storm,
Dreading the silence, never penetrate.
The lamps that glow upon each undine form
Are living; see their tendrils palpitate
In waters that the sun will never warm.
To make the couches where the nymphs by pairs
Recline for dim subaqueous delights
Coral has heaped on coral for more years
Than the nine towns of Troy have lasted nights.
To their little deaths the sea-maids yield no tears.
In crystal goblets from a deep-sea gem
They pour wine of the sea-anemone,
And to a coral mouth they lift the stem,
And sing the song Ulysses heard at sea,
And play the games that Lesbos learned from them.
PHILIP BLAIR RICE
