LITERATURE INTO LIFE
SIR,—Dr. Donald Davie refers to the Cambridge undergraduate literary magazine, Delta. According to Dr. Davie, 'the student writers never considered (I) that great works have other functions besides that of helping troubled youth to grow up'; it is true that this was not considered explicitly in the maga- zine; it seemed too obvious to require discussion. 12) That a teacher of English has a responsibility not only to those he teaches but (far more importantly)to what he tcaehes them.' A teacher's responsibility is to teach well, and this he can only do by being imaginatively aware of both his subject and his pupils. It was precisely this point that the Delta editorial was concerned with making. '(3) That part of the sense of obligation which a teacher has to- wards his pupils is an obligation to respect their emotional privacy.' Indeed he has; Delta would not deny it.
Dr. Davie resigned from the senior Treasurership of Delta because he found the tone of the articles discourteous. The basis of courtesy is fair-minded- ness, and this is certainly not a quality normally associated with gratuitous misrepresentation. But here arc subtler matters and subtlety can scarcely be expected from a writer who cannot see the dif- ference between the teaching of English and the teaching of architecture.-- Yours faithfully, .
King's College, Cambridge
SIMON GRAY HOWARD BURNS Editors. Delta
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