For tyme ylost may nought recovered be.
Geoffrey ChaucerRead
For oute of olde feldys, as men sey,_x000D_ _x000D_ Comyth al this newe corn from yer to yere;_x000D_ _x000D_ And out of olde bokis, in good fey,_x000D_ _x000D_ Comyth al this newe science that men lere.
Interpretation
Knowledge and innovation often stem from past experiences and learnings.
This quote by Geoffrey Chaucer emphasizes the idea that new knowledge and understanding are built upon the foundations of earlier works and experiences. It suggests that the wisdom and discoveries of the past are continuously reborn, leading to new insights in science and other fields.
In practice
In a lecture on the evolution of scientific thought, quoting Chaucer can illustrate the importance of historical context in modern research.
For tyme ylost may nought recovered be.
For in their hearts doth Nature stir them so Then people long on pilgrimage to go And palmers to be seeking foreign strands To distant shrines renowned in sundry lands.
If gold rusts, what then can iron do?
Thus with hir fader for a certeyn space_x000D_ _x000D_ Dwelleth this flour of wyfly pacience,_x000D_ _x000D_ That neither by hir wordes ne hir face_x000D_ _x000D_ Biforn the folk, ne eek in her absence,_x000D_ _x000D_ Ne shewed she that hir was doon offence.
Ther nis no werkman, whatsoevere he be, That may bothe werke wel and hastily.
But Christ's lore and his apostles twelve,_x000D_ He taught and first he followed it himself.
I grew up in an atmosphere where words were an integral part of culture.
There is less flogging in our great schools than formerly-but then less is learned there; so what the boys get at one end they lose at the other.
People talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations.
In our country today, very few children are raised to believe that their principal destiny is to serve their family, their country, or God.
The education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention. [I]t is much easier to introduce and establish an effectual system ... than to correct by penal statutes the ill effects of a bad system. ... The education of youth ... lays the foundations on which both law and gospel rest for success.
Sacrifice. Work. Self-discipline. I teach these things, and my boys don't forget them when they leave.
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