Rav Kook says that there is yeridat hadorot by talmidei chachamim but aliyat hadorot by ammei aratzot. In fact, we see a difference in attitude towards ammei aratzot already in the time of the Amoraim. Apparently education for the masses, started by Yehoshua ben Gamla, did the trick but at the expense of a certain lowering of the level of the elite, perhaps due to diversion of resources.
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