Few have been taught to any purpose who have not been their own

“Few have been taught to any purpose who have not been their own teachers.” Thus spoke Sir Joshua Reynolds, a painter, philosopher, and master of observation, whose eyes saw beyond the canvas into the nature of learning itself. His words hold a truth as ancient as thought — that no man or woman ever truly learns until they begin to teach themselves. The wisdom of others may guide the hand, but it is the fire within that shapes the soul. A thousand lessons are nothing if the mind does not awaken to seek its own understanding.

In the days of old, when the great thinkers walked among marble columns and golden scrolls, they too knew this truth. Socrates, the wisest of Athenians, claimed that he knew nothing — not out of humility, but because he understood that knowledge cannot be poured from one vessel to another. The teacher may offer questions, but only the student can find the answer. This is the essence of Reynolds’ wisdom: that education begins when obedience ends, when curiosity rises above instruction, when the student becomes his own master.

To be one’s own teacher is to live with eyes open — to question, to wonder, to wrestle with truth as Jacob wrestled with the angel in the night. It is a struggle that forges strength of mind and clarity of heart. The world may hand you knowledge, but understanding must be carved by your own effort. Just as the sculptor reveals the statue hidden in marble, so must each person carve wisdom from the rough stone of experience. No one can do this work for another, for no two souls see the world alike.

Consider the life of Leonardo da Vinci, that luminous flame of the Renaissance. He apprenticed under Verrocchio, yet his greatest lessons came not from his teacher’s voice, but from his own insatiable curiosity. He dissected corpses to study the structure of life, sketched birds to understand flight, built machines to explore motion — all because he refused to let learning end at the spoken word. Leonardo was, in truth, his own teacher, and his mind became a universe. His example proves that greatness does not come from following the path of another, but from blazing one’s own.

There is a quiet heroism in this kind of learning. It requires patience when others rush, courage when others conform. The self-taught mind must learn to sit in solitude, to listen to the whisper of insight that comes not from the outside world, but from within. Such a person does not wait for wisdom to be granted — they go out and seek it. And though their progress may be slow, it is sure; for what they learn, they truly own. Knowledge borrowed can be forgotten, but knowledge earned through struggle becomes part of the soul’s very substance.

Reynolds himself, though a man of art, knew that the brush alone could not make an artist. “Study the great masters,” he said, “but imitate them not.” In other words, learn from others, but think for yourself. The purpose of teaching is not to create echoes, but to awaken voices. When a student begins to question, to experiment, to break rules in pursuit of deeper truth — then the teacher’s purpose is fulfilled. For only then has the student become their own instructor, the heir to their own destiny.

So, my listeners of the present and seekers of tomorrow, take this lesson to heart: do not wait for others to teach you what you must discover yourself. Read, listen, and observe — but let no authority bind your thought. When curiosity stirs, follow it. When confusion arises, do not fear it; it is the birthplace of wisdom. Keep a mind that is always learning, a heart that is always questioning, a spirit that is never satisfied with easy answers. For it is through this sacred labor that you become both the student and the sage.

Remember then the truth that Reynolds gave the world: “Few have been taught to any purpose who have not been their own teachers.” Let your learning be not a mirror, but a flame — lit by the teachings of others, but burning with your own light. For only when you become your own teacher will you find the knowledge that cannot fade, the wisdom that cannot be taken, and the purpose that will guide you all your days.