wood is unsuitable for carving, even then my assertion will hold good for men of ordinary capacity, of whom, through God’s grace, there is always a sufficiency. Indeed a man quite wanting in intellect is as rare a phenomenon as one who, from his birth, has lacked his full complement of limbs. For, in truth, blindness, deafness, lameness, and weakness seldom accompany a man from his cradle, but are caused by his own negligence; and thus it is with exceptional weakness of intellect.
17. A further objection is brought forward: With many not the capacity to learn but the inclination is lacking, and to compel these against their will is as unpleasant as it is useless. I answer: There is a story told of a philosopher who had two pupils, of whom one was idle and the other industrious. Both were sent away by their master; for one would not learn, though able to do so, while the other could not, though anxious to acquire knowledge. But how does the matter stand if it be shown that the teacher himself is the reason of the pupil’s aversion to learning? Truly did Aristotle say that all men are born anxious to acquire knowledge, and that this is so we have seen in chapters v. and xi. In practice, however, the tender indulgence of parents hinders the natural tendency of children, and later on frivolous society leads them into idle ways, while the various occupations of city and court life, and the external circumstances which surround them, turn them away from their real inclinations. Thus it comes to pass that they show no desire to investigate what is unknown, and cannot concentrate their thoughts with ease. (For just as the tongue, when permeated with one flavour, judges another with difficulty, so the mind, when occupied with one subject, finds it hard to give its attention to another.) In these cases the external distraction must first be removed; nature will then assert itself with its original vigour, and the desire for knowledge will once more be apparent. But how many of those who undertake to educate the young appreciate the necessity of first teaching them how to acquire knowledge? The turner
