From C. S. Lewis's journal entry for 15 June, 1924:
M. told us a good story of how H. G. Wells had dined at All Souls and said that Oxford wasted too much time over Latin and Greek. Why should these two literatures have it all to themselves? Now Russian and Persian literature were far superior to the classics. Someone (I forget the name) asked a few questions. It soon became apparent that Wells knew neither Greek, Latin, Persian, or Russian. 'I think,' said someone, 'I am the only person present here tonight who knows these four languages; and I can assure you, Mr. Wells, that you are mistaken; neither Russian nor Persian literature are as great as the literatures of Greece or Rome'.Posted by Ben Brumfield at January 25, 2007 06:27 AM