# On Corporate Bodies explained — Table-Talk

> Chapter companion for Table-Talk by William Hazlitt.

## What happens

Hazlitt argues that corporate bodies—whether political, academic, or artistic—are inherently corrupt and self-serving, lacking individual conscience. The 'esprit de corps' replaces moral sense with collective self-interest, leading to insularity, hostility to outsiders, and resistance to innovation. He illustrates this through examples of universities, the Royal Academy, and municipal corporations, showing how they stifle genius, perpetuate mediocrity, and prioritize form over substance.

## Themes in this chapter

### Institutional Corruption and Esprit de Corps

Central theme: Hazlitt dissects how corporate bodies prioritize collective self-interest over morality, leading to corruption, insularity, and hostility to outsiders.

### Criticism and Critical Practice

Hazlitt employs sharp social criticism to expose the hypocrisy and stagnation of institutions like universities and the Royal Academy.

### The Nature of Learning and Pedantry

Universities are portrayed as 'cisterns to hold, not conduits to disperse knowledge,' prioritizing obsolete forms over genuine intellectual progress.

## Character check-ins

### William Hazlitt

Author and narrator; presents a scathing critique of corporate bodies and their corrupting influence.

### Sir Joshua Reynolds

Mentioned as having to hold himself aloof from the Royal Academy's internal politics.

### John Milton

Referenced indirectly through the phrase 'the very stones prate' (a paraphrase from Milton's 'Comus').

### Lord Byron

Mentioned as a popular author whose works are read in cathedral towns and close boroughs.

## Key lines

> Corporate bodies have no soul.

Institutions lack moral conscience and are driven solely by collective self-interest.

_Opening aphorism setting the chapter's thesis._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-corporate-bodies
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/table_talk_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/table_talk_se/chapters