"MENTAL BAD TASTE"
Sir,-After reading the correspondence in your issue of September 13 I feel mental equivalent of "a bad taste in the mouth," There is G.H.D. who among other things claims that people must believe the dogmas of his Church because so many great minds have done so-there are a number of great minds which have not believed in those dogmas (for instance, Plato, Socrates and Buddha, none of whom was a Christian) and it is obvious you can reach no conclusion by that line of argument. A logical person would never raise it, Then there is F. Blomfield who once again sets forth the thesis that know‘ledge has-no place in appreciation. It may be that the layman and the botanist have an equal appreciation of the beauty of the flower, but the botanist by reason of his expert knowledge can appreciate so much more than just the superficial beauty that the total enjoyment and stimulation he receives is incomparably greater than that of the layman. The same line of nent applies to any other aspect of human experience be it watching a football match, listening to music or looking at -_ of the visual arts. again there is Ian Hamilton who attempts to pour scorn on M. H. Holcroft’s Encircling Seas and E, H. McCormick’s appreciation of all of Holcoft’s contributions to New Zealand literature. Whether you agree with Mr. Holcroft or not, it is obvious to anyone who reads his work that he has thought deeply about the development of New Zealand writing and he has expressed his conclusions clearly with the addition of some interesting speculations about its future. The two extracts quoted Ly Ian Hamilton as "such stuff" and on which he
hangs the whole of his argument that the book is incomprehensible and/or reprehensible, are in fact quite clear in meaning. They may be slightly involved in construction, but then Mr. Holcroft was writing, presumably, for people wha can understand words of more than one syllable and sentences with more than one clause.
G. KEMBLE
WELCH
(Kohu .Kohu).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19461011.2.14.5
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 381, 11 October 1946, Page 5
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343"MENTAL BAD TASTE" New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 381, 11 October 1946, Page 5
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