Why Knowledge?

“Knowledge gives power,” says the philosopher. “Knowledge enriches,” says the scholar. But the practical individual exclaims: “Special expert knowledge is a personal asset, but how does general knowledge enrich?”

“Knowledge makes life fuller and more interesting.” And what does that mean? It means that life, through knowledge, may be made a joy and a blessing in spite of what the cynics say. It means that through knowledge we learn to appraise things at their true value. Our eyes are opened to see other colors than purple and gold, our ears to hear understandingly other sounds than the roar of traffic, the shriek of an automobile horn, or syncopated music. Knowledge reveals to us the nicer shades of color that give us quiet satisfaction—the finer and gentler tones of Nature and of human life that afford us a lasting enjoyment. It teaches us that there are things more “worth while” than ourselves.

Why do some of us ignore fine art, dismiss good books with indifference, yawn at good music, speed through a ravishing landscape at sixty miles an hour, and neglect a friendship that would bring us self-improvement? The sky and mountains have a thousand messages for us, if we pause to listen to them. The sea is an oracle if we study it. A good book is a mine of information if we search it. A fine painting is an inspiration if we cherish it. Good music is a constant joy if we give attention to it. And the voices of our fellow creatures are filled with precious confidences if we give our ears and hearts to them.

Let us then seek knowledge with the eager mind of a child; for indeed, as Robert Louis Stevenson sang: