circumspection , a human strategy, aphorism 423

423

Does One Proceed “Spontaneously” or Circumspectly?  I side with circumspection, which takes into account the development of the human and his ability to succeed in future, unknown exploits.  An untrained impulse takes into account only the exploit ... at the expense of all required to hone necessary skills.
Spontaneity requires too much luck and throws away much wisdom that could be learned if one would just pause and calculate a little.  Thus, in an impulsive act which is successful a man may seize the prize, but at the expense of increased power and a more accurate aim.  He is less likely to succeed in future endeavors.  Not having taken into account the role of habits, his arms fly forward, grasping countless straws of little victories, all the while carried away by his accumulated ignorance, fighting against the current.  His success is indistinguishable from his panic.  Eventually his arms tire, and he yields to the turbulence.

The circumspect man marches side by side with his successive exploits ... his accumulating potential, marching toward a calculated spontaneity ... one which grows more and more frequent ... both the human and the exploit adding to each other’s luster and strength.

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