What does this quote by ALEXANDER POPE actually mean?
Myop has given some very good background on the context and history. To me, this quote has also struck me as a longing for escape from the worries and stresses that have affected humankind since the dawn of time. Oh, to be the village idiot, not being aware of the real world. My brother and I rented a house together while we were both in college and we would sort of make fun of ourselves by saying, “When I grow up, I either want to be a nuclear scientist or the village idiot.” The thing is, people revered the vestals and felt because they were removed from the world, they held and bestowed wisdom the experiences of the real world hid from the rest of them.
