Proverb Expansion
Experience is the best agency through which one can learn almost anything under the sun. An ounce of practise equals tons of theory. Practise makes a man perfect. The way to perfection lies in the path of practise. It is said that book knowledge should be corroborated by practical knowledge. But if it is said the other way round, it is better if the practical knowledge is corroborated by a good knowledge of theory also. The absence of theoretical knowledge is not so great a handicap as the absence of practical knowledge. We may warn a child a dozen times a day against playing with fire. But he does not believe you until he scorches his hand. Experience is a stern school mistress. She sets us hard lessons and severely punishes inattention. But what she teaches, she teaches thoroughly. We never forget her lessons. Very often we learn her lessons too late. The man who breaks all rules of health in his youth learns at last when his health is in danger. It is by suffering that we learn patience, by facing danger we learn courage, by sorrow we learn sympathy and by mistake we reach perfection.
