All those who preserve the ways of Nature,
By sophistic reasoning, they do not try
To gloss over their 'practical wisdom';
They do not seek to embrace everything
In the entire world within the framework
Of their assessments, nor to comprehend
All merits and virtues in it ever attained.
Solitary and trembling they still remain
Where they are, and seek the restoration
Of their inherent nature. What have they to do
With any further ado? The ways of Nature
Are not to be pursued, nor all its features
To be known on a small scale of curiosity --
A little knowledge is injurious to those features.
Small feats are injurious to the ways of Nature;
Hence I call all folks, "Try harder, guys,
And do your great things to the full extent!
Quit wasting time on useless fiddle-faddle!"
A strong trumpet-call for critical thinking to reign strong, allowing points of view to be sensed, but not without considering the subtext of all sensorial communication as the dialectical gateway to deeper understanding. Without such willingness, one succumbs to intellect's succubus, i.e., the seduction of fiddle-faddle.
Better advice was never spoken. If we really realize how much time we waste, we would all be horrified. I encourage my students not to waste a single minute. However, I fear they do not take the advice of an old man.
Note: Since my husband's cancer surgery 4/25/05, this book content has been integrated into the public speaking content for audiences interested in a sassy approach to personal and/or community awareness events. Another chapbook on intimate love poet
These timeless quotations culled from the celebrated corpus of writings by W.E.B. Du Bois are presented with illuminating introductory essays by Aberjhani. Narration of the Audible book performed by Catherine Byers.
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