Tolstoy, after Rousseau, on Knowledge and Wisdom

“Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know. Among the most necessary knowledge is the knowledge of how to live well, that is, how to produce the least possible evil and the greatest goodness in one’s life. At present, people study useless sciences, but forget to study this, the most important knowledge.”

Geneva Then and Now: Post Tenebras Lux

The beautifully sculptured wall, 18 feet high and 300 feet long, in a majestic park in the center of Geneva, Switzerland, constitutes an impressive monument to the Swiss Reformation of the 16th century. Last week, on an afternoon off from my lectures at the Geneva Bible Institute, I went with a few of the French and Swiss pastors who were attending the conference, to visit Le Mur des Réformateurs. At the centre of the wall are four impressive statues of Farel, Calvin, Beza and Knox. Behind them in letters six feet tall is the motto of the Franco-Swiss Reformation: "Post Tenebras Lux" (After Darkness, Light), referring to the coming of the Gospel and the revival of true faith after centuries of medieval obscurity. Certainly, that old Geneva was not heaven on earth, but it still stands as a moving example of the revival of biblical faith and piety in both private and public life.

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