Knowledge is Power
Yes, but it must be practical knowledge. There is nothing less
powerful than knowledge unattached, and incapable of application.
That is why what little knowledge I have has done myself personally
so much harm. I do not know much, but if I knew a good deal less
than that little I should be far more powerful. The rule should be
never to learn a thing till one is pretty sure one wants it, or that
one will want it before long so badly as not to be able to get on
without it. This is what sensible people do about money, and there
is no reason why people should throw away their time and trouble more
than their money. There are plenty of things that most boys would
give their ears to know, these and these only are the proper things
for them to sharpen their wits upon.
If a boy is idle and does not want to learn anything at all, the same
principle should guide those who have the care of him--he should
never be made to learn anything till it is pretty obvious that he
cannot get on without it. This will save trouble both to boys and
teachers, moreover it will be far more likely to increase a boy's
desire to learn. I know in my own case no earthly power could make
me learn till I had my head given me; and nothing has been able to
stop me from incessant study from that day to this.
Academicism
Handicapped people sometimes owe their success to the misfortune
which weights them.
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