Better guide the young than reclaim them when old For the voice of true wisdom is calling "To rescue the fallen is good, but tis best To prevent other people from falling" Better close up the source of temptation and crime Than deliver from dungeon or gallery Better put a strong fence round the top of the cliff Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Interpretation
It's better to prevent problems than to deal with their consequences later.
This quote emphasizes the importance of proactive measures in education and social responsibility. Rather than focusing solely on rescuing those who have fallen into trouble, we should prioritize preventative strategies that keep individuals from facing those challenges in the first place, thus creating a safer and healthier society.
In practice
During a seminar on youth development, one could use this quote to stress the importance of early intervention programs.
What is important for kids to learn is that no matter how much money they have, earn, win, or inherit, they need to know how to spend it, how to save it, and how to give it to others in need. This is what handling money is about, and this is why we give kids an allowance.
The schools must fashion the person, and fashion him in such a way that he simply cannot will otherwise than what you wish him to will.
To maximise global social welfare, policymakers should strongly encourage the diffusion of knowledge from developed to developing countries.
...Writings can be stolen, or changed, or used for evil purposes. But isn't the risk worth taking? The more people who share knowledge, the greater safeguard for it. Isn't there more danger in ignorance than knowledge?
Without knowledge and understanding, one tends to become a passive spectator rather than an active participant in the great decisions of our time.
Sadly, children's passion for thinking often ends when they encounter a world that seeks to educate them for conformity and obedience only.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.