HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5333, 1 October 1928, Page 4

HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.

ARROGANCE REBUKED. Any inclination in men of learning to he arrogant was gently rebuked by Lord Balfour in acknowledging the British Academy’s congratulations on his Both birthday. He said 'that there was a time, not so very far back in the history of the world, when omnivorous learning was quite within the competence of men of ability, and he dared to say that they were very proud of their omnivorousn.ess. He remembered a story to tihe effect that Bentley, the great scholar who flourished at .the beginning of the 18th. century, expressed the hope that, he would live it.o. the age of 80 years, because he thought that by thajt time he would have read and mastered every bo.ok worth reading in the world. Lord Balfqur said he believed that at that time it was possible for a man of Benley’s, memory, his industry, his omnisejent mnowledge of the languages which were then, thought, alone worth cultivating, to do so,. time? were changed I He was talking to a body which included some of the: indst learned experts in the world on particular branches of huma.n knowledge. They probably did not know every book worth reading on; their branch of learning. But day by day human),, knowledge as it grew, human faculty as it remained stationary, got farther apart, and in these days he did not believe there tv as a single expert who would pretend that, he really kn,ew every book worth readin. o ', even, on allied subjects 1 . No Berkley, if a new Bentley were born into the world, could pretend to grasp in all its details th e infinite variety of modern, knowledge. The idea that any ma,n of learning could be arro,ga|nt haj forever gone.