The Moral Obligation To Be Intelligent: Selected Essays - Softcover

"Trilling constantly pits 'spontaneity, complexity, and variety' against the propensity to commiserate with, then condescend to, then coerce our peers."--"Kirkus Reviews" "There was never just one thing, in [Trilling's] work. He was mentally indefatigable; there was order in his writing, but there was no repose."--Leon Wieseltier "Wieseltier . . . has chosen wisely . . . One can recommend this book as either an introduction to or a reminder of one of the few intelligent men of our time toward whose work . . . an intellectual obligation still exists." Richard Gilman, "New York Times Book Review"" "There was never just one thing, in [Trilling's] work. He was mentally indefatigable; there was order in his writing, but there was no repose."--Leon Wieseltier "Wieseltier ... has chosen wisely ... One can recommend this book as either an introduction to or reminder of Lionel Trilling, one of the few intelligent men of our time toward whose work ... an intellectual obligation exists."--Richard Gilman," The New York Times Book Review" "Each essay makes points that are both fresh and timeless. The sheer muscle of the mind whose prose you are reading is evident in limber, seemingly effortless argument ... His interest in morality as expressed in literature is so deep and nuanced that reading him reminds one that to think about these matters is far more interesting, entertaining, and even exhilarating than it is improving."--Katherine A. Powers, "The Boston Sunday Globe""" "What Wieseltier's compendium now makes available is the mind of a serious traveller to the most exalted, and often the most problematical, stations of art and ideas and manners."--Cynthia Ozick, "The New Yorker "

Bringing together the thoughts of one of American literature s sharpest cultural critics, this compendium will open the eyes of a whole new audience to the work of Lionel Trilling. Trilling was a strenuous thinker who was proud to think too much. As an intellectual he did not spare his own kind, and though he did not consider himself a rationalist, he was grounded in the world. This collection features 32 of Trilling s essays on a range of topics, from Jane Austen to George Orwell and from the Kinsey Report to "Lolita." Also included are Trilling s seminal essays Art and Neurosis and Manners, Morals, and the Novel. Many of the pieces made their initial appearances in periodicals such as "The Partisan Review" and "Commentary"; most were later reprinted in essay collections. This new gathering of his writings demonstrates again Trilling s patient, thorough style. Considering the problems of life in art, literature, culture, and intellectual lifewas, to him, a vital occupation, even if he did not expect to get anything as simple or encouraging as answers. The intellectual journey was the true goal. No matter the subject, Trilling s arguments come together easily, as if constructing complicated defenses and attacks were singularly simple for his well-honed mind. The more he wrote on a subject and the more intricate his reasoning, the more clear that subject became; his elaboration is all function and no filler. Wrestling with Trilling s challenging work still yields rewards today, his ideas speaking to issues that transcend decades and even centuries."