A n Address Given at tke Bible Institute of Los Angeles A Word of Vital Importance to tbe Ckurck of Today
Bÿ DR . O. P. G IFFO RD o f Boston. M ass.
o th er people’s thinking. She knew it was tru e, for th e label said so. When she g radu ated she read an essay on a social question th a t had vexed men for a hund red years. When she stepped from th e platform she disappeared. Why? Because th e re was nothing in her m ind th a t was no t in books. I t is cheaper to buy a book th an to support a woman. The binding costs less and you can sh u t it up when you are tired w ithout making anyone mad. H er g randm other sa t in th e corner kn itting . She was* a dear old lady w ith silver h air. She could no t dance; it was w rong to dance when she was a girl. She could not play th e piano. She was a past-m aster a t the wash- tub,. She could no t paint;» she had white-washed th e cellar walls. She knew nothing of F rench, or German, and her English was uncertain. She Mormonized h er speech, giving p lu ral verbs to singular nouns, b u t she was a wise, old woman— and wisdom wins. When th e young wife found h er hus band was losing in te rest and th e m a tri monial bond did no t pay, she sought g randm o th er’s advice how to renew the investment. Young mothers ask g rand mother how to take th e baby safely th rough teething, measles and mumps. They never sought th e advice of the girl who knew , b u t of th e woman who was wise— for wisdom wins. “W ith all th y gettings get wisdom.” You will no t have much competition. You can ask your own price for it. The man who knows gets $50.00 for a
PROVERB is th e wisdom of many and th e w it of one. A bee plunders a hundred flowers to fill one cell w ith honey. A pro verb-m aker searches a cen tu ry to pack a phrase, but th e “ phrase g litters like a words long upon the
jew el” five
stretched forefinger of all time. Words are th e best preservative of though t we have found. Palaces and temples crum ble to du st; pictures fade; words out la st the centuries. Solomon bu ilt temples and palaces; not one stone re mains upon another. He w rote pro verbs th a t ou tlast th e centuries. One proverb runs, “He th a t is wise w inneth souls.” Wisdom wins. Knowledge comes, b u t wisdom lingers. Knowledge furnishes th e raw m aterial for wisdom. Knowledge spins threads. Wisdom weaves webs. The woven web covers th e naked form . Knowledge makes bricks; wisdom erects buildings, and buildings are civilization. Knowledge is the apple tree in the Spring, adorned like a bride for h er husband. Wisdom is th e tree in th e Autumn bending beneath th e burden of fru it th a t makes glad th e h e a rt of man. She was a “ sweet girl gradu ate w ith golden h a ir.” She could dance divinely; play beautifully; pain t passably; read, w rite and ta lk in English, F rench and German, b u t she could no t th in k in any language. She had never been ta u g h t to th ink . The shelves of her memory were filled w ith th e “ canned goods” of
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