4. Youthful Folly

Credit | 4.Youthful Folly – YouTube

The Lines

Bottom. [6] A person who lacks discipline will not be able
to devote himself to the intensive study necessary to master a subject.
Discipline does not mean the forced performance of dull routine, however. That
only deadens the mind and replaces true inquiry. Discipline means focusing
one’s attention on the object of study until it becomes clear, until it is
understood and can be used. The young
child
is accustomed to play and expects everything to be fun. But the
serious student finds pleasure in working on something that is difficult until
it becomes easy.

2. [9] A kind man is patient with inexperienced youth. He is
meticulous with explanations to those who find it difficult to comprehend. He
takes it as his responsibility to help and encourage such persons, not to
ridicule and humiliate them. With tolerance and inner strength, such a man is
able to lead large groups of the young and inexperienced.

3. [6] An inexperienced person, seeking improvement, loses
his way if he indulges himself in adulation of a strong man that he views as a
hero. It is not by becoming a devotee of some admired person, but by developing
one’s own inner self that a person is able to find his true self. Hero worship
is bad for both the worshipper and the object of his adulation, because it
focuses on a personal, emotional relationship rather than on the development of
independence. A servile relationship only leads to disillusionment.

4. [6] There is little that can be done for one who is
caught up in fantasy and unrealistic expectations. Such a person needs to
escape his imaginative world and return to reality. The best thing a teacher
can do is to abandon such a one to his folly until he comes back down to earth.

5. [6] To be childlike in attitude is to be open to receive
instruction. Openness does not necessarily mean being gullible. It means not being
arrogant, not being resistant nor full of oneself and one’s own ideas. Such a
mind is easy to teach, and is the perfect soil for developing a flourishing
intellect.

Top. [9] At times, it is necessary to take firmer measures
with youthful
folly
when it persists. But the punishment should be mild, and its purpose
must be to educate, not to destroy. The desired end is that the wrongdoer
learns to act more responsibly and to abandon his foolish ways. But excessive
punishment will only teach resentment and harden attitudes, not serve to
prevent a recurrence. The purpose of punishment for pursuing folly is not to
inflict retribution, but to change behavior.

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