On the Shallows and the Deep

A Passage

Education ought not be pursued in the view of one day having a great deal to say to one’s fellow man. The purpose of education is by no means to inflict oneself on others. Rather, it ought to be pursued in the hopes of gaining more love for the world and for oneself through knowledge and experience—for these two companions, oneself and the world, are perpetual, and the sooner one grows to love them, the better. We cannot love that which we do not know; and we cannot know that which we do not learn. This is the superiority of the infant to the man: the former, knowing nothing, does not presume he has nothing to learn. Thus the saying, “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”—for, having gained a little, we are too apt to think we have gained all, and, mistaking these shallows for the deep, we leave off our progress so that we might turn back and lecture those on shore about the ocean, while the saltwater is merely slapping our shins.