"Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight"
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Safire is smuggling an old Enlightenment argument into a neatly modern package: sophistication isn’t just taste, it’s mechanics. “Knowing how things work” sounds like a shop-class proposition, but he’s really talking about the hidden infrastructure behind any pleasure we call refined, from language to politics to art. Appreciation, in his framing, isn’t an instinctive shiver; it’s earned, assembled out of comprehension. That’s a quietly elitist claim, though he cushions it with a democratic promise: anyone can learn the workings.
The subtext is a defense of expertise at a time when expertise was already becoming suspect. Safire’s career as a journalist, speechwriter, and language maven trained him to see systems everywhere: how a phrase lands, how power speaks, how a rule bends without breaking. When he links knowledge to “civilized delight,” he’s offering a moral alibi for curiosity. Delight isn’t frivolous; it’s the emotional reward of literacy in the broadest sense.
The rhetorical trick is the word “civilized.” It flatters the reader into agreement while implying a hierarchy: to remain in the dark is to live a little less fully, maybe even a little less responsibly. Safire doesn’t say that ignorance is shameful; he implies it by making understanding the gateway to pleasure. In an age of hot takes and performative disdain, the line lands as both challenge and invitation: learn the gears, and the world stops being a blur of effects and becomes a place you can actually savor.
The subtext is a defense of expertise at a time when expertise was already becoming suspect. Safire’s career as a journalist, speechwriter, and language maven trained him to see systems everywhere: how a phrase lands, how power speaks, how a rule bends without breaking. When he links knowledge to “civilized delight,” he’s offering a moral alibi for curiosity. Delight isn’t frivolous; it’s the emotional reward of literacy in the broadest sense.
The rhetorical trick is the word “civilized.” It flatters the reader into agreement while implying a hierarchy: to remain in the dark is to live a little less fully, maybe even a little less responsibly. Safire doesn’t say that ignorance is shameful; he implies it by making understanding the gateway to pleasure. In an age of hot takes and performative disdain, the line lands as both challenge and invitation: learn the gears, and the world stops being a blur of effects and becomes a place you can actually savor.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
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