1 / 13

Pleasures of Knowledge

Pleasures of Knowledge. Sydney Smith. Sidney Smith (politician). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

seamus
Download Presentation

Pleasures of Knowledge

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Pleasures of Knowledge Sydney Smith

  2. Sidney Smith (politician) • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. • The Honourable Sidney Earle Smith, PC (March 9, 1897 – March 17, 1959) was a noted academic and Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker. • Born in a poor area of Cape Breton, he grew up speaking both English and Gaelic. He was an excellent student, and became a lawyer and a professor of law. He lectured at Osgoode Hall, and then at Dalhousie University, By 1929, he was Dean of Dalhousie's law school. In 1934, he left the Maritimes to become president of the University of Manitoba. In 1945, he was appointed president of the University of Toronto. He remained in that role for twelve years, overseeing the university's greatest period of expansion.

  3. Long a strong Conservative, but very much in the Red Tory tradition, Smith became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1956, he was considered a possibility for the party's leadership, but decided not to run, disappointing those who wished to prevent the populist John Diefenbaker from becoming leader. • After Diefenbaker won a surprise minority government in 1957, Smith was appointed to head the External Affairs department. Despite Smith's brilliance and popularity in academia, his success in this new role was limited, and the government's foreign policy ran into a series of problems under Smith. After holding the position for two years, Smith died suddenly in 1959.

  4. “It is noble to seek Truth, and it is beautiful to find it. It is the feeling of the human heart, that knowledge is better than riches; and it is deeply and sacredly true.” • Proverbs 3:13-20 “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her…”

  5. “…there is one thing unchangeable, indestructible, and everlasting”, and that is God’s Truth. • Matt. 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

  6. “it is worth while, in the days of our youth, to strive hard for this great discipline; to pass sleepless nights for it; to give up for laborious days; to spurn for it present pleasures; to endure for it afflicting poverty; to wade for it through darkness, and sorrow, and contempt, as the great spirit of the world have done in all ages, and in all times.” • 2 Peter 1:5 “For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” • Proverbs 1: 1-7

  7. What is the relationship between labor and genius? • When Smith stated “the life of all truly great men has been a life of intense and incessant labor”, he means that true genius requires much hard work to develop fully. Often what is considered genius is mostly the result of labor and faithfulness in the pursuit of knowledge. • According to John Todd a good mind is not as important as using hard labor and toil to acquire knowledge. The applying of our minds to learning and educating ourselves must be our own work (“Education, Our Own Work”). • Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

  8. “What is the use of so much knowledge? What are we to do with the seventy years of existence allotted to us? And how are we to live them out to the last?” • Col. 1:10 “And we pray this in order that you may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, …”

  9. “Therefore, when I say, in conducting your understanding, love knowledge with a great love, - with a vehement love, with a love coeval with life, …” • Proverbs 8: 17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”

  10. Theme of this essay • “He is a miracle of genius, because he is a miracle of labor.” To pursue knowledge and love it above all, because knowledge is found in God.

  11. Grammar • Infinitives: grammar p. 60 • Semi-colons: grammar p. 20

  12. Cross References • Read Proverbs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, & 8. • Philippians 4: 8 • Col. 1:10, 3:23 • Todd, John, “Education, Our Own Work” • Longfellow, Henry W., “Excelsior” • Noebel, David A. “Philosophy and Worldviews”. Philosophy of Christian School Education. Ed. Kienel, etc. • “Paul firmly believed that Christians should pursue knowledge in order to better serve God.”

  13. Aristotle • The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more. (A Beka Lit. p. 5)

More Related