Who’s right?

Ecclesiasticus: “Do not be contemptuous of what older and wiser men have to tell thee; by their lore live thou, if wise thou woulds’t be, and have the gift of discernment.”

Or Henry David Thoreau: “I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors. They have told me nothing and probably cannot teach me anything.”

Let me come down somewhere in the middle. The Bible expresses the view of tradition with all its strengths and weaknesses.

Thoreau’s position tells us more about him than the older people he knew. It’s not hard to understand why his seniors could not teach him anything.

Older people vary in their grasp of wisdom. For some, their old age is the culmination of a life-long search for meaning. After decades of trial and error, they have arrived at understanding not accessible to them earlier.They have learned from both their mistakes and their successes.