Much emphasis is placed on knowledge and memory,
intelligence is worshipped and information is mankind's god.
Yet these too are trivial and shall turn to dust.
People cling to memories yet these too are mortal
and shall fade with age and die with death.
No, what is immortal, and is important
does not age, does not die, and is rarely sought.
Wisdom and love are the fruit of the soul
and these do not age but grow with time.
Yet these treasures are ignored and mocked.
Many people believe they possess wisdom,
yet they do not seek it.
Many covet love, and wish it for themselves,
yet are reluctant to give it,
sharing it only with close friends and family.
Wisdom and love are the food of the soul
yet people stuff their souls with hatred and ignorance,
and while their bodies live healthy and well,
souls suffer and starve.
Wisdom often comes with age but
wisdom does not come from age.
Indeed, there are children who are wise
and elders who are fools.
No, knowledge and wisdom are enemies.
Knowledge is of the world and for the world,
wisdom is of the soul and for the soul.
Knowledge is nothing more than trivial facts
that help make us feel good about ourselves,
but wisdom is true understanding of life and what is life.
Only when one has wisdom, rather than knowledge,
can one truly understand the purpose of dying,
and more importantly, the purpose for living.
In “Wisdom and Knowledge” Zachary Zuccaro describes how society places a huge emphasis on gaining knowledge, yet information and knowledge tend not to last with time. Wisdom and love, on the other hand, do last and even “grow with time. / Yet [they] are ignored and mocked” (Zuccaro 9-10). Zuccaro says that most people think they are wise, but in reality are not. He believes wisdom, a real understanding of the world, is distinct from knowledge, “trivial facts” that have no real importance (Zuccaro 27). While I agree with Zuccaro that wisdom is important, knowledge can also play a big role in our lives. Knowledge is the basis off of which one builds their understanding. If one wants to become a great doctor, they must have a grasp of the basic principles of medicine. If one wants to become an astrophysicist, they must have basic concepts of physics down first. While knowledge should definitely not be the ultimate goal in life, it is an important stepping stone on the way to greater understanding.
The beginning of the poem I found especially interesting. It said how in our world “intelligence is worshipped and information is mankind's god. / Yet these too are trivial and shall turn to dust” (Zuccaro 2-3). I thought this is especially relevant to the way life and our world functions. Society prioritizes knowledge so much in education that it does not pay enough attention to growing wisdom and understanding of a subject. This is an especially bad move considering how, as Zuccaro describes, knowledge is not helpful to society and will end up being lost. By prioritizing knowledge, people are not prepared to make meaningful, new contributions to society. I experience this priority in my everyday life. School often teaches me information to memorize just for the sake of knowing it. I tended to notice this mainly in basic history, science, and math classes where teachers taught me dates, events, facts, and formulas that did not make a meaningful contribution to my life. This has improved in more advanced classes where I apply my knowledge in labs, real-life problems, and analyzing historical documents, but this deeper thinking should have been developed all the way up to where I am now. By just teaching children knowledge in their more basic classes and not applying that in the form of wisdom, school does not teach children everything they need for being valuable members of society.