Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
—II Timothy 3:7
3024 “Alphabet” After His Name
Few years ago, a student died in New York City at age 63. He had been a student all his life and the degrees after his name looked like the alphabet. He never had a job, never taught anyone else from his store of knowledge.
When he was a youth, a rich relative had bequeathed him several thousand dollars a year as long as he remained in school, but his income was to cease as soon as he left school. The relative merely wanted him to get a good education.
But the youth took advantage of the technicality and kept continuously in school.
3025 Why Harvard Becomes Knowledge Storehouse
Charles W. Eliot, famous president of Harvard University, was being honored one night by a group of well-known educators.
“Permit me to congratulate you on the miracle you have performed at the university,” said one educator. “Since you became president, Harvard has become a storehouse of knowledge.”
“That is true,” laughed Eliot. “But I scarely deserve the credit for that. It is simply that the freshmen bring in so much and the seniors take away so little.”
—Selected
3026 Gargantuan Course of Studies
A Gargantuan course of studies is a course which includes all languages, ancient as well as modern, all the sciences, all the -ologies and -onomies together with calisthenics and athletic sports.
Gargantuan wrote to his son Pantagruel, commanding him to learn Greek, Latin, Chaldaic, Arabic; all history, geometry, arithmetic, and music; astronomy and natural philosophy so that “there be not a river in all the world thou dost not know the name of, and the nature of all its fishes; all the fowls of the air; all the several kinds of shrubs and herbs; all the metals hid in the bowels of the earth, with all gems and precious stones.
“I would furthermore have thee study the Talmudists and Cabalists, and get a perfect knowledge of man. In brief, I would have thee a bottomless pit of all knowledge.”
—Rabelais
3027 Pope Going To Night School
Anxious to speak to his visitors in their native languages, Pope John zealously pursued his language studies. President Eisenhower, on a Vatican visit, complimented him on his proficiency in English. With disarming irony, the Pope replied in Italian, “I’m going to night school—but I’m always at the bottom of the class.” Asked by one of his aides why he persisted in his study of German, which he found difficult, John replied, “It’s the only language those canaries Pius XII left me can understand.”
—Selected
3028 Famous Scientist Attends Review Class
An observer at the University of Berlin in the 1850s later reported: “We used to see in the crowd of students a small, white-haired, old and happy-looking man.” This was Alexander von Humboldt, the founder of the science of natural history, who said he came to review what he had neglected in his youth, and sat taking notes like the other students.
During a lecture on physical geography, the lecturer Ritter, an eminent scholar himself, quoted von Humboldt as his authority. All eyes were turned upon the white-haired scientist, who rose slightly from his seat, bowed, and then resumed taking notes.
—Living Biographies
3029 Wanting It Badly Enough?
A young man came to Socrates one day and said, in substance: “Mr. Socrates, I have come 1,500 miles to gain wisdom and learning. I want learning, so I come to you.”
Socrates said, “Come, follow me.” He led the way down to the seashore. They waded out into the water until they were up to their waists, and then Socrates seized his companion and forced his head under the water. In spite of his struggles, Socrates held him under.
Finally, when most of his resistance was gone Socrates laid him out on the shore and returned to the marketplace. When the visitor had regained his strength, he returned to Socrates to learn the reason for this behavior.
Socrates said to him, “When you were under the water, what was the one thing you wanted more than anything else?”
“I wanted air.”
Then Socrates said, “When you want knowledge and understanding as badly as you wanted air, you won’t have to ask anyone to give it to you.”
—Sterling W. Sill
3030 Experience Again and Again
The School of Experience is a pretty tough institution. And it’s a lot tougher when we fail to learn our lessons. You remember the case of the school principal who protested to his superintendent because he wasn’t given a certain promotion. “After all,” he said, “I’ve had twenty-five years’ experience.” “No, Joe,” said the superintendent, “that’s where you are wrong. You have had one year’s experience twenty-five times!”
—Sterling W. Sill
3031 Tissue Case
Tokyo (AFP)—Toilet paper with English words written on each sheet are on sale here to help Japanese to learn English day by day, a little at a time. Each roll has six words printed several times over with their Japanese translation and phonetic representation. The company which produces this hygienic English course intends to put out 13 series of rolls a month, which represents about 80 new words. Japanese students of English will thus have the opportunity to learn some 800 words of vocabulary a year.
3032 But For That One Lecture!
A well-known professor of economics at Harvard tells this one on himself. A student who enrolled for one of his courses disappeared after the first lecture. At least he did not show up again until the final examination. The professor thought he was pretty brazen to think he could pass the course after attending only one lecture, but he said nothing and allowed him to take the examination.
On examining the paper he was amazed to discover how well the student had done. The paper was practically perfect but the professor, still galled at the boy’s failure to attend his classes, gave him only 98%. He was curious about the whole thing, however, and summoned the boy for an interview.
After praising him and telling him what a high grade he got in the examination, the professor said, “Now, I’ve never seen a student cut classes like that and pass the course. How did you do it?”
“Well,” said the student apologetically, “I should have done better. I should have got 100%, but the first lecture of yours got me a bit confused.”
3033 Holiday Education
For his entry in the British Who’s Who, author Sir Osbert Sitwell wrote that he was educated “during the holidays from Eton.”
3034 Epigram On Learning
• Personally I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.
—Winston Churchill
• The man who is too old to learn, was probably always too old to learn.
—Henry Haskins
• To the graduating class, I bequeath the good advice that I gave to the students of former years. It really is as good as new, for very few have ever used it.
—Raymond L. Nooman
• The few words Churchill used to encourage the English people during World War II could be used appropriately in a commencement speech. He said: “This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end. This is just the end of the beginning.”
See also: Knowledge, Increase of ; Students.