SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD

        In the past it was believed that the parents and the Teachers must be strict with children. Otherwise, the children would be spoiled. A child was continuously beaten so as the keep him away from negligence and bad habits. But with the passage of time, it is believed that a child has to be treated as an individual and that he has his own special needs and desires. Education today primarily caters to a child’s needs without too much use of the rod. Corporal punishment has been abolished in schools and the emphasis is on treating a child with sympathy and understanding. This helps in the development of the child’s personality.   

   

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD

        The wounds caused by a sword may be deep and serious. But they ultimately heal with the right treatment and the passage of time. But the wounds caused by the pen when we write ill of others and criticize them are incurable. That is why it is said that the death and destruction caused by military conquerors is short-lived. So is their glory and heroism. On the other hand, the writings of such immortal men of letters as Kalidas, Shakespeare, Goethe and others leave as indelible impression on the human mind and civilization. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau, for example, brought about the French Revolution with their slogan of Liberty, Equality and Justice. Such writers deserve our respect and reverence, and not the military conquerors who main and kill thousands of people to fulfill their selfish ambitions.

JUSTICE DELAYED IN JUSTICE DENIED

       It is generally believed that the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. There may be delay in divine justice, but it is eventually meted out to the wronged as well as the wrong-doers. But the same cannot be said about justice in the world. Cases in our civil courts keep piling up and judgement is delayed beyond all reasonable expectations. It is said that if the grandson gets justice in a case filed by his grandfather even before the grandson was born, he should consider himself lucky for justice in Indian courts in inordinately delayed. In such cases, justice Delayed becomes justice denied because the wronged party is not alive to savor the fruits of justice.

SHOULD NOT THROW STONES AT OTHERS THOSE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES

     None of us is perfect. We all have our more or less faults and weaknesses. We should not, therefore, criticize and make fun of others when we see their black spots. They may turn back and pick up our faults and weaknesses and we shall end up by blaming each other and arguing about whose faults are more glaring than the others’. This will bring about disorder and chaos in society. We should think of ourselves are living in a glass house. If we throw stones at others from inside our glass house and they retaliate by throwing stones at us, our glass house will be shattered. We should develop tolerance for others’ weaknesses and shortcomings before we expect them not to criticize and make fun of us.

IDLENESS IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

         It has been rightly said that an idle man’s brain is the devil’s workship. If one sits idle for a long period of time, one’s mind is likely to go astray and come up with mischief. On the other hand, if one keeps oneself busy and occupied one gets hardly any chance to think of unnecessary and irrelevant things to divert his mind and attention from the task at hand. Idleness often leads to indolence and fatalism. It may also lead one to take to evil ways. It must, therefore, be avoided at all costs and we should keep ourselves occupied all the time with constructive work and creative pursuits. That would take our mind off mischief and harming others.

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

         We should not go by only outward appearances because all that glitters is not gold. A well-dressed, handsome person may turn out to be a villain whereas an ordinary looking, poor person may prove to be a friend in need. We should therefore not to try to form our impressions, good or bad, when we see someone for the first time. Only when we have interacted with a person over a long period of time should we make an assessment of his character and worth. We should guard ourselves from being led or misled by a person’s polite behaviour, humility and ever- smiling nature. Instead, we should observe him longer for forming an unbiased and unprejudiced judgement of his character and conduct

UNEASY LIES THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN

          An ordinary labourer is said to lead a far happier life than a king. After having worked hard throughout the day, the labourer enjoys a good night’s sleep without a care in the world. On the other hand, a king cannot sleep peacefully. He tosses and turns in his bed because he is full of tension. He has to cope with many worries. Similarly, a rich industrialist has to deal with and overcome several problems during the day. His mind is full of these problems when he goes to bed at night, whereas an ordinary worker in his factory has no such problems to deal with. He has put in the required hours of work during the day and goes home a contended person. This shows how a wealthy person contracts many diseases and ailments that an ordinary healthy person has not even heard of, thus proving the truth of the saying that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of responsibilities.

WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY

        If we unable to get what we want, we should not sit in a corner and blame our luck and circumstances. Failures are a part of our life and we must struggle hard to achieve what we have set out to achieve in life. We must think of ways and means to realize our ambitions and reach of our goals. This is well illustrated by the story of a crow who felt thirsty on a hot summer day. In his search for water to quench his thirst, the crow saw a jug half full of water lying on the ground. Since the water level in the jug was low, the crow could not reach it with his beak. He then started picking up pebbles and stones lying nearby and putting them in the jug. He continued doing so till the level of  water in the jug rose. This way he was able to quench his thirst, after that he flew away.  This shows that we can get what we want and fulfill our desires if we have the will to do so.

HEALTH IS WEALTH

         If we are physically fit and regular in our habits, we truly stand to gain in life. A weak constitution is an obstacle in our way as it stops us from taking part in sports and games. We are drowsy and listless. This plays on our nerves and makes us peevish and short-tempered. We cannot even perform our routine duties. On the other hand, if we enjoy good health we can perform even the most rigorous of tasks without feeling tired or exhausted. Good health keeps us physically alert as well as mentally active so as to get ahead in life. Health is indeed wealth for us because all the money in the world cannot buy it for us.

NEVER PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

                 Procrastination, it is said, is the thief of time. If we keep putting off things that we are supposed to attend to immediately, they will keep piling up till we shall not know where to start from. In order to avoid such a situation, we must be prompt in doing whatever we are assigned to do without any loss of time. This applies to the homework that students are assigned. If they keep putting it off, they will cut a sorry figure in the class. It will accumulate in course of time and directly affect their performance in the examination. On the other hand, if they are regular they will stand to gain manifold. For this, they must inculcate a sense of self-discipline. They must draw up a timetable for various activities during the day and stick to it. This will ensure regularity and punctuality in whatever they undertake to do.

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS A DANGEROUS THING

           We should not be hasty in voicing our opinions on matters we know very little about and we should not judge something merely on the basis of prejudices and preconceived notions. A thorough knowledge is required for expressing any opinion or passing a judgement on something that confronts us. Otherwise, we shall end up as making fools of ourselves. Only a qualified and experienced doctor should be consulted for any disease or ailment we suffer from. If we go to a quack or a semi-qualified person, he may do more harm than good to us. It applies to all spheres of life and all fields of activity. A little knowledge always prove harmful, if not dangerous.