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.”

Day 12: Poetry

The guys over at The Art of Manliness posted this collection of "20 Classic Poems Every Man Should Read."  I believe the primary reason poetry remains a timeless effective literary device in all cultures for the simple reason that many things are best said in through poetry; in other words, narrative cannot convey the depth of meaning mastered by poetry. Besides, poetry keeps a guy from getting calloused over and keeps him feeling.

I'm glad to recall how a few of these poems were introduced into my own life, even memorized at a very young age.

What follows are a few comments on a handful of personally significant poems from the list (above) along with a few choice lines.

Ulysses (Tennyson): life is for the living, so live it to the full. 

"I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees . . . 
Come, my friends,‘T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die."

If (Kipling): "if you can . . . you'll be a man"

Sailing to Byzantium (Yeats): grow old relentlessly pursuing what is beautiful and good. 

"An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium."


Invictus (Henley): Life is abundant with experience, which includes suffering.

"It matters not how strait the gate, 
how charged with punishments the scroll, 
I am the master of my fave,
I am the captain of my soul."

Last, but not least, and perhaps more importantly of all in the list is

Ozymandius (Shelley): what remains when you're gone? What is your legacy? Which part of "you" abides forever? 

AofM

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