Wisdom is nothing but earthly commonsense

An old villager was travelling along a narrow path which cut through thick vegetation. He had never been to school. He could neither read nor write. Yet everyone in the village considered him a wise man. He was indeed wise. He knew a lot about human nature. But he always had time to gather more wisdom. He did that by keeping his eyes and ears open. The music of birds caught his ears as he walked along the path. A folk tune came to his mind. He hummed it, swung the cane in his hand to provide the beats for the music. Then his eyes fell on the leaves of edible plants which stood on either side. Some animal had eaten up the leaves of plants on the right side, but not of plants to the left. "Ah, he told himself. Its right eye must be blind." He walked a few more steps when he found footprints of the animal. Not all footprints were equally firm and clear. The villager searched for the reason. Then the truth struck him. The animal was lame in one leg. Which leg? the villager sought. He studied the imprints. Then he told himself, "It's the hind leg, the left one, that is short." A further study proved that the animal was a horse. The footprints were not deep. The old villager mumbled, "nobody was riding the horse. It must have strayed." Hardly had he put all the facts together when a scholarly looking man ran in. He asked the villager, "Did you see my horse?" The villager asked, "Your horse? Is it blind in the right eye?" The new comer exclaimed, "You are right! How did you know?" The villager enquired, "Does it limp on its hind leg . . . the left leg?" "Of course. That is my horse. Where is it?" The man asked. "How do I know? I never set eyes on your horse," the villager replied. That made the man angry. He shouted, "You have stolen my horse. Give it back to me. Or I will complain to the village chief." "Do it. I am not afraid. I am no thief," the villager growled. "Come with me. We will go to the chief," the man dragged the old man along. The chief heard the complaint. Then he asked the old villager, "What do you have to say?" The villager explained how he had found out details about the horse. The chief growled at the complainant, "Go and find out your horse yourself. Don't waste time making false complaints." Then he smiled at the villager and said, "Society needs people like you." The wise man commented, "wisdom is nothing but earthly common sense. One needs to only look around carefully to find out facts."


Meaning: One need not go to schools; or read books to become wise. Life is the best teacher. A student of life gathers earthly common sense. Thus he gains wisdom.

Alternatives: Learning doesn't by itself make one wise. Wisdom is superior to knowledge.