Burning desire for wisdom
Story of a young man who came to Socrates and asked him how he could gain
wisdom. Socrates told the young man to come with him and they walked
together into a near by lake. When the water had got to be about 4 feet
deep, Socrates suddenly grabbed the young man and pushed his head under the
water and held him there. The young man thought it was a joke at first and
didn’t resist.
But as he was held under the water longer and longer, he became frantic and struggled
desperately to get free but could not. He began to panic and try with all his might as his
lungs burned to get air. Socrates then lifted him out of the water and said to him. When
you desire wisdom with the same intensity that you had to breath then nothing will stop
you from getting it.
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