INTELLECTUALS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 838, 5 December 1929, Page 13

INTELLECTUALS

Drone-Like Existence of “Modems”

CONTRAST OF REAL PEOPLE Who are the rea! Intellectuals. the really intelligent people of today ? Tlie common conception of an erudite and highly-cultured young man seems to be based upon his ability to discuss the Russian ballet, the i latest Noel Coward revue, the poems \ of the favoured poet of the moment, ; and the latest and most devastating j cocktail. Some of these so-called intellectuals j have a novel or a book of poems to their credit, certainly, but surely that does not entitle them to assume the revolting, arrogant manner most of them affect? Do they make really intelligent use of their lives? asks Hope Lyon Leith in the London “Daily Chronicle.” Have they higher aims than the less picturesque young fellow who has no time or opportunity to indulge in highbrow conversation at the tea parties 4 of the intellectually elite? I know of an extremely dull and conceited young man of 26 who is simply worshipped by his relatives, just because he decided to wilt gracefully through life instead of going to work like his brothers. He cultivated a faintly delicate air, an elegant waist and a taste for poetry of the modern kind, preferably bound in eau de nil and silver. Living On Mother He has lived on his doting mother for years, and in return for her worship he now and then escorts her to luncheon or tea. He has absolutely no thought in life but vanity, his world begins and ends there, and his one idea is to impress people with his witty remarks, his “difference from the common herd.” He will bore you for hours with the tales of his weary triumphs over the girls who “simply won’t leave me in peace.” He is sickening; and there are many like him. The young man who, as he puts it, likes play, enjoys perhaps Conrad, and excels at tennis or golf, is looked down upon as a coarse fellow with no imagination by the people who are considered to be the intellectuals of this world. Women to Blame I think the women are largely to blame. If they did not make pets of these pretty youths, there would soon be an end to them. But then, they, too, have their poses and conceits. Many a girl has established a reputation a“s a clever and exotic person well-timed rather bright remark (probably one she has heard or'read), and the right choice in

| earrings. A really intellectual-look- J I ing pair of earrings will work won- | j ders, and there is no limit to the i 1 possibilities of triangle scarves! 1 Of course, if you are merely an i intelligent girl, with an ordinary job, ! you haven't much chance, and if you j : are looking forward to marrying and | having a home somewhere in the I ; suburbs, you are quite hopelessly dull, ! ! you cannot be one of the elite. ... j I heard the following conversation i j ; between two girls of the factory type i ; ! the other day. They' were dressed j 1 iin a way that would have greatly dis- j : tressed an aesthetic eye, and their ( i voices were neither low nor sweet. J At Grips With Life Said one:—‘*l met him when he i came out: he was a bit down on his J luck, and ashamed-like, but I soon j I cheered him up, and he's looking for ! J a job now so he can get married.” , Her friend replied:—“Well, I think ! « you'll be sorry, that’s all—a chap! J with no money, and been in trouble, < too." | The other girl replied:—“Oh, I’ve |j thought it all out. We. get along fine j « if I just keep an eye on him; besides, j I like him better than any other fel- 1 j low, and he was good to me when j I he had the money.” J I could not( help thinking of the , fight ahead of that girl. She prob- < ably has far more real intelligence j than a “clever” woman I know, who < was married a couple of years ago, i has money, position, everything, and ! -yet is eternally dissatisfied; who now < contemplates divorcing her husband < because she alleges that he agreed j to spend the summer at a certain < place on the Continent, and later re- * fused to do so. j They are both bored with their < marriage, and will probably contrive 1 a divorce somehow, and go on lead- « ing a futile existence, restless , and < soul-weary. The Real Ones j The husband, by the way, is an J authority on cocktails, can tell you the J latest scandal, and reads the modern < poems “like a perfect genius, my 4 dear!” His wife is equally famous J for her marvellous midnight parties, 4 at which every woman must wear a ! Lanvin gown and eat a kipper with 4 her fingers. So amusing and different, J you know! . Are these, then, the Intellectuals, 4 the Bright Brains of the World? J What of the people who go quietly 4 through life, doing really difficult jobs 4 well and faithfully? What of the J scientists and doctors engaged in re- 4 search work which will benefit thou- ! sands, the teachers who do their best 4 to educate the coming generation and I turn them into useful citizens? The | men who use their brains and courage 4 to conquer the air, the engineers, J architects who design beautiful build- | mgs; the hard-working journalists who 4 have no time to cultivate that fetch- Sj ing “literary air,” the many others e who do the necessary and often tedi- | ous jobs which have to be clone? | These, to my mind, are the really * intelligent people. Is" it not about time we realised it?