"Goodbye to All That?" (p. 72)
“
There is always a nasty surprise in store for the imperial mind. It is typical of the imperial point of view that it is ignorant of, or blind to, the other. The imperial mind keeps missing the point. It fails to appreciate, for all its benevolence, why it might come under attack, why it might, for instance, be worth a nation's while to rise up against it. The imperial mind has to be shocked out of its daydreams.
— James Fenton
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "There is always a nasty surprise in store for the imperial mind. It is typical of the imperial point of view that it is ignorant of, or blind to, the other. The imperial mind keeps missing the point. It fails to appreciate, for all its benevolence, why it might come under attack, why it might, for instance, be worth a nation's while to rise up against it. The imperial mind has to be shocked out of its daydreams." in the context of ""Goodbye to All That?" (p. 72)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "James Fenton" (Quotes, The Strength of Poetry: Oxford Lectures (2001): Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, )
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About James Fenton
James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. Like his mentor, W. H. Auden, he has been Professor of Poetry at Oxford.
About James Fenton
James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. Like his mentor, W. H. Auden, he has been Professor of Poetry at Oxford.
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