On Learning

Let thy heart be patient with those who learn slowly. One who has been taught is not born with wisdom; instruction shapes the man. He who teaches another must first have been willing to be taught. The excellent son is the gift of God, and the instruction given him is his true inheritance; no field, no title, no gold can take the place of the good teaching a father gives.

How good it is when a son hearkens to his father, how many are the joys of him to whom this is given! He who hearkens is one loved by God. He who hearkeneth not, the god does not hear him. In his heart lives knowledge; in his words lives truth. He who obeys shall become one who is obeyed. Great is the son who receives.

Let not thine heart be exalted because of thine abundance of knowledge. Take counsel with the learned and with the unlearned alike. The limits of wisdom are not known; no scholar has yet seen its boundary. Good counsel is more rare than emeralds, and yet it is found where one least expects it. He who thinks he has finished learning has only begun to be foolish.

Hearing is good for the son who listens. He who listens becomes a hearer; hearing is good for the hearer. How good and how pleasant it is when a worthy son accepts instruction, for obedience is life to the soul. Truth is great; it leads to good; it has not been disturbed since the time of Osiris.