Life, as I see it, is not a location, but a journey. Even the man who most feels himself "settled" is not settled--he is probably sagging back. Everything is in flux, and was meant to be. Life flows. We may live at the same number of the street, but it is never the same man who lives there.
So many men are afraid of being considered fools. I grant that public opinion is a powerful police influence for those who need it. Perhaps it is true that the majority of men need the restraint of public opinion. Public opinion may keep a man better than he would otherwise be--if not better morally, at least better as far as his social desirability is concerned. But it is not a bad thing to be a fool for righteousness' sake. The best of it is that such fools usually live long enough to prove that they were not fools--or the work they have begun lives long enough to prove they were not foolish.
That is the way with wise people--they are so wise and practical that they always know to a dot just why something cannot be done; they always know the limitations. That is why I never employ an expert in full bloom. If ever I wanted to kill opposition by unfair means I would endow the opposition with experts. They would have so much good advice that I could be sure they would do little work.
From My Life and Work.
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ReplyDeleteDo you accept this as truth, even given where his superiority led him?
Truth may be too strong a word. I do think this is wise perspective, and I will use wisdom from anywhere which seems good to me, since I believe all wisdom comes from the same Source.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, if I required my philosophers and religious leaders to live perfect lives before accepting their wisdom, I would be pretty limited in my choices. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, in particular, both said and did things that are very hard for me to understand. But let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.