Nibley on Rhetoric XIV

Nibley on why rhetoric is bad for society:

The landslide of vulgarization once started could not be stopped. Good men were intimidated and banished from the cities by mobs who could always count on finding orators that would never contradict them, society reserving its richest rewards for those who could justify, condone, and confirm its vices. (Hugh Nibley, "Vicotoriosa Loquacitas," CWHN 10:260.)