"What ambiguity there is in exalted things.
We despise them a little."
“What ambiguity there is in exalted things. We despise them a little,” wrote Don DeLillo in the opening pages of his 1982 novel The Names. DeLillo’s sentiment rhymes with something Arthur Machen said: “The undistinguished hate genius, for it is a mystery, and mystery is anathema to them.” DeLillo’s statement is more inclusive — “we” — hate them — a litt…