The Horizon Ever Before Us

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

--Will Durant

Will Durant is a wonderfully enjoyable philosophical character. I especially appreciate the humility he acquired toward the end of his life. Although he never regained his Christianity, he did assume a great deal of respect for it and repudiated his earlier hubris. Thus, I think he really believed what he is quoted as saying above. After all, it is true. The more we learn, the more we seek to buttress our own philosophy through erudition, the more we realize that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our imaginations, more things than we can comprehend, more nuances and difficulties simultaneously narrowing and widening the path of enlightenment. The horizon is ever before us and never overtaken. We reach a cleft in the mountain for respite only to find that the summit is still out of reach. Perhaps this is why knowledge will pass away when the end of all things is upon us. Perhaps this is why perfection of knowledge is ultimately found not in books but in the face of the Living Christ.

Honor, Liberty, Truth!