The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-05
.PUNAHOU SCHOOL LAYS
CORNER STONE OF A HALL
(corttn led from page -

Looking at his life, We are reminded Of
that English king who never said foil
ish thing. and never did wise one, Sol
ONION uttered 1900 proverbs, packed full
OF wisdom in the most condensed form
ard his songs were a 1,G05-an doubtless
good of their kind. He understood and
appreciated the excellence of all moral
virtues and the undesirablsness of their
contrary vices. No man could discourse
go well as he on duties, public and pri-
vate And yet while he knew all this and
was intellectually wise, he did not act
according to his knowledge. Judged by
our standards OF virtue he would not be
regarded as very respectable in his life.
Not only did he depart from those viz
tues in whose path wisdom directs US to
walk, but he even forgot the Lord the
fear of whom he had said was the begin
ming of both wisdom and knowledge. He,
the wise man, fell into idolatry, and was
the ultimate cause Of the dissolution of
the Hebrew confederacy. No man that
reads the proverbs of Solomon can doubt
that he knew what wisdom was. But
no man who reads the story of his life
can believe that in any true sense he was
himself wise. 1t Is not enough, then. to
know wisdom, or even to love wisdom;
what is needed is 10 be wise-both to
know and to do what is best. Knowl-
edge. then, Is not wisdom. The scholars
who die as result of debauchery, may
have knowledge but no wisdom.
Burr had knowledge, but no wisdom.
Byron, Shelley, Poe-all had knowledge,
but no wisdom. On the other hand,
Washington. Lincoln, Mckinley, had but
little knowledge. speaking after the
fashion of the schools, but they had
great wisdom knowledge is valuable
hIlf xIiSd1rr fall what IN
do with 1t. A certain amount of knowl
edge is necessary to everyone. Without
this, man is at great disadvantage,
even in the ordinary pursuits of life. The
common sense legislation of the day re-
quires all children to attend school long
enough to get this absolutely necessary
amount of knowledge. Whether one shall
go on and devote more time and labor
to getting an education is question for
wisdom to decide; and wisdom Will decide
1t, not according to the absolute value
of knowledge, but according to the sacri-
flee that must be made, according to the
character of the mind to be educated,
and according to the use which the
knowledge can be put to after ii is gain
ed. The paths in life that lie open to
the young are almost innumerable. The
least inviting, but the one taken by the
great multitude, Is that of manual labor,
assisted by little or no thought. The man
with little or no education viii take this
path because he can take no other. And
the boy who wishes to walk in that path
all his life can make sure of doing so by
not getting an education. In all other
paths, even those in which, like agricul-
ture and the mechanic arts muscle plays
a prominent part. thought is the real
master. In invention by which human
comfort Is augmented and progress as
sured; in the creation of literature, the
intellectual and spiritual food of q world
in the eloQuence which lifts men out of
their dead selves and makes them be-
come the servants OF humanity, in mas
tering and directing the forces Of nature
SO as nightly to increase production and
values, in all these thought Is the ruler. !
KNOWLEDGE AND IT'S USES
But whether 1t be invention, creation. !
inspiration, or accumulation, the wise |
man does not necessarily do what he
thinks is best in itself, but what, being )
good, he can do best. Better be a good
blacksmith than poor lawyer or an in
different preacher; better produce wealth
and accumulate 1t than write worthless
book; better, in short, have a heart of
wisdom and know what one can do best
and then do 1t. Daniel Webster was a
great lawyer, at the head of the Ameri-
can bar; a great orator and statesman.
the leader in the United States Senate,
IN period distinguished for stormy dis
cussions and the investigation of pro-
found principles. He was wise in choos-
ing to be what he was. AS a business
man, Judging from the way he conducted
his own affairs, he would probably have
been obliged to make an assignment for
the benefit of his creditors at least once
a year. Even If we claim that the end
of education is the getting of knowledge
the ultimate question is what the man
can do with it? Wisdom does not suffer
one to consume the fruits of his own tai
ents, but bids him use them for the good
of others. The self-seeking, the ambi-
tious plotter, the aspiring egotist whose
thoughts center in self, are never wise.
Only he is wise who knows and acts as If
he knew that service is the royal path
TO both happiness and rest. For true
nobility lies in service; and the highest
philosophy is contained in the Masters
words: IF any man will be chief among
you, let him be the servant of ALL
Necessity compels the human family
to some extent to seek wealth, enough at
least to supply their needs. Beyond the
supply Of your wants, persent and pros
pective, the wisdom of accommodating
wealth depends entirely upon our pur-
pose and the use we intend to make Of
it. Almost everything, I grant, depends !
on money In a. very important degree. |
Schools, colleges, public institutions for
the Observation-Disclosures, blind. deaf and
dumb, feeble-minded the aged and in
firm, the orphan. the poor and helpless.
the sick-all such institutions, whether
supported by public or private benevo-