64 MY AMERICAN FRIENDS

rule, of which the most notable is the late Mr.
Woodrow Wilson, Mr. Wilson unquestionably
belonged to the intelligentsia. He was long-
sighted—essentially "a forward-looking man.'*
But the tragedy which closed his career, due to his
imperfect vision of momentary issues, suggests
that his case should be cited as an exception that
proves the rule. It seems to have acted rather
as a warning to the American intelligentsia in
general than as an example they are inclined to
follow. He was succeeded, it may be noted, by
President Harding.

The qualities which differentiate the intellect
of an intelligentsia from intellect of other kinds
are not easy to define. But they may all be
summarized as a grasp on the importance of
history—knowledge of its contents, regard for its
teachings and skill in their application to present
conditions. This does not mean that the intelli-
gentsia knows nothing but history, or that a
member of it cannot be a specialist in other
departments, such as engineering, medicine or
finance* It means, rather, that whatever know-
ledge he possesses will be deepened, illuminated
and rendered more applicable to life by his know-
ledge of the past, out of which the facts known
have come to be what they are and acquired the
power to become different in the future. He will
know facts, not as things that are simply there,
but as things in process of change. He will know
them dynamically. His knowledge will thus have