Eighteenth-nineteenth century Irish politician Henry Grattan declared, “At twenty years of ago the will reigns, at thirty the wit, at forty the judgment.” That seems insightful enough to warrant a bit of discussion.
“Will,” in Grattan’s sense, might have meant “desire,” “impulse,” “want.” Impetuousness is the mode of existence for many at twenty. Want anecdotal evidence? Follow college students around on spring break. See it; do it. Crave it; experience it. Tempted by it; risk it. So, we read annually about students who took chances that resulted in their demise, in pregnancies, or in the early stages of some addiction.
By thirty, some acquire sufficient knowledge and experience to live by cleverness. The “wit” is as much self-aggrandizing planning as it is the beginnings of insight. Thirty is a good age for proving oneself, of making a name for oneself. At forty, two kinds of judgment begin to set. One is the prudence that burgeoning wisdom begets. The other is the fixation of belief and categorization of behavior and ideas that leads to bias or closed mindedness. For some, forty approaches the era of the “old dog,” you know, the one that can’t learn new tricks. Forty fixes philosophy and slanted interpretation.
Are any of us living examples of Grattan’s nineteenth century psychology and political philosophy? Did we ever make mistakes borne of impetuousness? Did we ever act out of vanity? Have we bound ourselves to fixed ideas on which we base our judgments?
“Will,” in Grattan’s sense, might have meant “desire,” “impulse,” “want.” Impetuousness is the mode of existence for many at twenty. Want anecdotal evidence? Follow college students around on spring break. See it; do it. Crave it; experience it. Tempted by it; risk it. So, we read annually about students who took chances that resulted in their demise, in pregnancies, or in the early stages of some addiction.
By thirty, some acquire sufficient knowledge and experience to live by cleverness. The “wit” is as much self-aggrandizing planning as it is the beginnings of insight. Thirty is a good age for proving oneself, of making a name for oneself. At forty, two kinds of judgment begin to set. One is the prudence that burgeoning wisdom begets. The other is the fixation of belief and categorization of behavior and ideas that leads to bias or closed mindedness. For some, forty approaches the era of the “old dog,” you know, the one that can’t learn new tricks. Forty fixes philosophy and slanted interpretation.
Are any of us living examples of Grattan’s nineteenth century psychology and political philosophy? Did we ever make mistakes borne of impetuousness? Did we ever act out of vanity? Have we bound ourselves to fixed ideas on which we base our judgments?
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