PROVERBS are daughters of daily
experience, we learn a lot from the sayings of wise men but it is also true that
“wise men make proverbs and fools repeat them.” Usually, we do not give weight
to these full of wisdom adages unless we ourselves go through such experiences,
then we come to realize that what is the importance of these quotations by our
ancestors.
“A little learning is a dangerous thing” is also such a beautiful,
thought-provoking idiom that is as true in today’s world as it was during the
age of Alexander Pope who uttered this golden maxim. Doubtlessly, a person who
has a little learning about a subject or science, he is good for nothing;
neither for himself nor for his fellow human beings and society as a whole. A
little or inadequate learning/knowledge of a profession, craft or skill gives no
any benefit, it is useless. A person who has a little learning of a skill let us
take the case of a quack for instance who deems himself to be like a learned and
professional doctor is the great danger for the society as many people lose
their lives because of wrong treatment exercised by him. Similarly, those
individuals who are not aware of administration and government system and have a
little learning about it, often put the country on the road to devastation,
economical fall down, social disorder, political turmoil etc. The current
situation of Pakistan is obvious to us that how illiterate, fake degree holder
politicians who have a little learning about the history and problems of the
country are causing a serious security risk to the nation. Bomb blasts in public
places, in markets, killings of guiltless civilians at shrines of saints,
besides the curse of poverty, load-shading, hunger, price hike, the drone
attacks continue murdering innocent people in the tribal areas of the country,
the shocking law and order situation; all this is the result of a little
learning of real burning issues of the country and their solution. Our
politicians are uneducated, they do not know hot to make sound, and
comprehensive long-term policies for the nation therefore we are suffering. Of
our leadership were educated and it had a thorough knowledge of country’s
culture, history, people’s woes, illiteracy, the situation would have been quite
different than the existing ones.
Knowledge or education is desirable and should be attained by anyone at any
cost. Those with a little education who read on a variety of subjects and then
try to impress others, they act as if they were very learned and knowledgeable.
Often, some people having believed them, go to them for consultation, but ‘a
little learning’ of these ‘artificial educationists’ leads others which usually
ends in a great disaster for instance, there is a person who has got a piece of
information on few common diseases on the internet, gives wrong guidance to the
people that can result in the sudden death of an individual. It is not possible
for a common man to learn all sciences on the internet, there are a number of
websites on the internet which spread disinformation causing a great destruction
of health, energy and money etc.
So, it is proved from the above arguments that ‘a little learning’ is a
dangerous thing’ and that ‘empty vessels make most noise’. It is always good to
know something well. If you long for becoming a doctor, good politician,
engineer, professor etc, then you have to seek formal education, a complete
learning of your profession, craft, business etc otherwise you will lose much
and suffer a lot. The little learning can never make you richer, wealthier and a
good scholar, businessman, teacher, officer, soldier etc. with a little
learning, you cannot teach others, you cannot be given a job in university, the
little learning will not enable you to succeed in any sphere of life; you must
be the expert or master of your profession, having a good command of your career
and art of specialization in it. A little learning gives no advantage rather
human beings would suffer from this incomplete knowledge you have acquired.
‘Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring’ says Alexander Pope in the second
and last line of his famous quotation. The meaning of this proverb is that in
order to serve humanity, one should be specialized in his/her field and if one
cannot do so, then one must abstain from drinking the Pierian Spring because
drinking from this great Pierian Spring calls for perfection and mastery in
one’s field, profession etc. gaining knowledge in a particular field will
definitely make one a master in a subject. Let us not be jack of all trades and
master of none. Let us at least be a master of some.