In the most secret heart of every intellectual ... there lies hidden ... the hope of power, the desire to bring his ideas to reality by imposing them on his fellow man.

Lionel Trilling
About This Quote

In the most secret heart of every intellectual, there lies hidden a struggle between two conflicting forces. One is the desire to bring his ideas to reality by imposing them on his fellow man. The other is the power of self-esteem, which continually tells him that he can accomplish that goal without using force. If an intellectual is constantly aware of these two forces, he will be constantly uneasy about them. He will feel constantly drawn toward one or the other of them, but he will be constantly aware of the conflict which exists between them.

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