Wisdom Is Creative
We are told that the owl of Athena, goddess of wisdom, flew only in the evening. If this were true and the whole truth, wisdom would be useless, for it would mean that while we have to live forward, we can only understand backward. A far better appreciation of the nature of wisdom is expressed in the more modern definition: ‘Wisdom is knowing what to do next. Virtue is doing it.’ In its essential nature, wisdom is creative. It is not only a means of keeping life in touch with the past and of adjusting it to present situations, but through it we are enabled in increasing measure to forestall the future, to determine what coming situations shall be and to bring about the realization of our visions of human good.
In this crisis of human history it is supremely important that we shall be able to interpret this time, to see clearly what is at stake, and distinguish the great issues which demand immediate attention from the minor matters which can be put off until the victory of our principles has been achieved.
Clarity of vision is necessary if our people are to hold a great purpose resolutely to the end and achieve a victory which will be moral as well as material.
— George R. Dodson (born August 20, 1865)
No comments:
Post a Comment