Wisdom and Knowledge. Are these not (at least part of) the purpose of education? Some three hundred years ago, two English poets—Alexander Pope and Edward Young—left us with thoughts about the nature of such.
Pope (1688 – 1744) had a difficult early life. As a Catholic, he was not allowed to go to school (due to the English “Test Acts” which banned Catholics from teaching, attending college, holding public office, or going to Catholic grade school). Alexander was homeschooled, for a time, and later attended an illegal, underground school. When a law was passed disallowing Catholics from living within 10 miles of London, his family moved to the country and the young man’s formal education came to an end. On his own, he studied Homer, Virgil, Chaucer, Shakespeare and other works in French, Italian, Latin and Greek. Alexander Pope is well-known for his translation of Homer and (after William Shakespeare) is the second most quoted writer in Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
Edward Young (1683 - 1765), an Anglican in England, was not subject to the same religious bigotry as Alexander Pope. He studied Canon Law at Oxford and took holy orders as a priest in 1730. The statement conveyed on the bookend above, "The Man of Wisdom is the Man of Years," comes from his work Night-Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality. This nine-part series of poems were published between 1742 and 1745. It was illustrated with engravings by the artist William Blake. His statement makes the argument that true wisdom accumulates with experience and life-long learning, over the course of a lengthy life—good advice and motivation for any young scholar. Young was considered (by some scholars) to be "radically insincere." His bleak and pious poetry, which shunned earthly pleasure, contrasted sharply with his vigorous maneuvering to achieve fame, fortune and social position. Nevertheless, he was amongst the most popular poets of his day, affecting the works of poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Edmund Blake.
The bookends, shown above, were made by Bradley & Hubbard (Meriden, CT) in the 1930's. Click on the photo above to learn more about them.
More handsome Back-to-School ideas tomorrow and in the days to come.
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