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  • The American Scholar

    Present-Day Thoughts on the Quality of Life (1969)

    Mar 04, 2019 7 minutes
    JACQUES BARZUN

    Introduction

    CHARLES BARZUN AND MATTHEW BARZUN

    THE ESSAY THAT FOLLOWS WAS originally delivered as a lecture in 1969, but the two of us learned of its existence only in 2002. We were visiting our grandfather and his wife, Marguerite, at their home in San Antonio, Texas. After dinner, our grandfather offered us a CD on which was written in permanent magic marker, “Present-Day Thoughts on the Quality of Life (1969).” A stranger had sent it to him, but he had no memory of, or interest in, its contents. We were free to take it.

    At the time of our visit, Jacques Barzun was 95 years old. He had been retired for more than 25 years from his post at Columbia University, where he had taught history for nearly 50 years and had served as provost for a decade. Though he had written dozens of books, his recently published magnum opus, was earning him more national attention than he had received since the 1950s. His body was frail, but his mind was sharp. He continued to read and write for another decade until

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