“A great boy in our school, having a little short cassock, by force took a longer from another that was not  so tall as he, and gave him his own in exchange: whereupon I, being appointed judge of the controversy, gave judgment, that I thought it best each should keep the coat he had, for that they both of them were better fitted with that of one another than with their own: upon which my master told me, I had done ill, in that I had only considered the fitness of the garments, whereas I ought to have considered the justice of the thing, which required that no one should have anything forcibly taken from him that is his own”.

Excerpt From
The Essays of Montaigne — Complete
Michel de Montaigne

Assuming as I do that the purpose of life is not merely the accumulation of capital and the exhibition of wealth, one must on occasion ponder the success of our elders and leaders to instruct their juniors and subordinates. I speak of course of that process commonly called education – not for the utilitarian purpose of arranging subalterns in the military, rather for the object of instructing the young in morality, jurisprudence, restraint and empathy. The refinement of knowledge does at times enable the appreciation of beauty as well.

“History is my particular game as to matter of reading, or else poetry, for which I have particular kindness and esteem: for, as Cleanthes said, as the voice, forced through the narrow passage of a trumpet, comes out more forcible and shrill: so, methinks, a sentence pressed within the harmony of verse darts out more briskly upon the understanding, and strikes my ear and apprehension with a smarter and more pleasing effect.”

Idem

While I am a fan of the trades for their revealing and axiomatic purpose, Instruction of the seemingly impractical nature mentioned aforehand is however critical to the emancipation of the mind. While much disparagement has been said of pedantry by contrast, it is inescapable that our less than pragmatic motives in life require guidance and experimentation if we are to capture other than its vulgar side. At times we will enhance the meaning by employment of the metaphors of profit and loss to make the point – albeit for a more obscure or Delphic purpose.

By progression I am learning that the substance of life is remarkably clear in spite of its equally unfathomable and oft times nebulous significance. The Stoic truths constructed from ideals of logic, monistic physics and naturalistic ethics encourage “living a well reasoned life”. It is however not an education which in recent centuries of Western society has gained either a popularity or a universality of application. Instruction in logic – to take but one example – is valuable to us all. From its study we are informed of the necessity (when contemplating the avenues of conduct and conclusion) to reason from an opening premise before proceeding to a further narrower premise and then the final deduction. The most esoteric elements of law are founded upon the plainest of principles, including “Nemo dat quod non habet” – No one gives what he does not have; or, “Res ipsa loguitur” – The thing speaks for itself. From these broad truths we may apply specifics.

The complication of education is diminished by the fascination of the experience. There is no reason we should not instruct our youth in a manner of practical application for common good – the ultimate goal of which is to afford “living a well reasoned life”.

This afternoon while driving along the Appleton Side Road – beneath the azure sky and brilliant sunshine – I pondered these gripping principles. The failure to have properly educated our current leaders has affected us all. Nor should we have expected otherwise. The fall-back resort to competitiveness – whether exemplified in sports or scholastic achievement – has unwittingly enabled the bully and aggressive vengeance, the performance of which by our elders is nothing but embarrassment and disappointment – aside from the violations. Our refusal to be intolerant of this intimidation is of no help. We either legitimize the learning or ignore it. The dilemma is not far removed from the painful difference affecting government service based on experience and merit or money and votes (the latter coincidentally illustrative of the Chinese model).