A person is not a democrat thanks to his ignorance of literature and the arts, nor an elitist because he or she has cultivated them. The possession of knowledge makes for unjust power over others only if used for that very purpose: a physician or lawyer or clergyman can exploit or humiliate others, or he can be a humanitarian and a benefactor. In any case, it is absurd to conjure up behind anybody who exploits his educated status the existence of an “elite” scheming to oppress the rest of us.

Jacques Barzun (1907-2012) French-American historian, educator, polymath

“Exeunt the Humanities” (1980), The Culture We Deserve (1989)
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An earlier version of this essay appeared as "This Business of the Humanities," Three Talks by Jacques Barzun, Northern Kentucky University (1980).