A bulwark...

Classical education is a bulwark against slick stupidity and easy opinions. Far from spiriting us away from the lovely things of the world, it affords greater possibilities of intimacy even with those things we haven't read and been tested upon in school. it opens doors and keeps them open. The trained and cultivated mind is free to enjoy at those times when enjoyment matters most--when we sit quietly by the beach or before the fire with our friends, our drinks, our thoughts.
~T. L. Simmons, Climbing Parnassus, p.231