Learn what is true in order to do what is right.

"Learn what is true in order to do what is right." Thus declared Thomas Huxley, the great defender of science and reason in the nineteenth century. His words strike like a clarion call, binding truth and action together in one eternal law. For knowledge alone is barren unless it gives birth to justice, and action unguided by truth descends into folly. To know rightly is the foundation, but to live rightly is the aim. The mind must seek truth, not for pride or ornament, but that the heart and hand may be directed toward what is good.

The ancients knew this union well. Did not Socrates insist that the examined life was the only life worth living? To him, truth was not an idle speculation, but the compass of the soul, guiding men toward virtue. Likewise, the prophets of Israel sought knowledge not for the sake of knowledge, but so the people might live in harmony with the divine will. Huxley, standing centuries later in the age of science, uttered the same wisdom in his own way: truth is the lamp, but righteousness is the journey it lights.

History gives us vivid examples of this principle. Consider Abraham Lincoln, who sought first to learn what was true about slavery and its moral weight upon the nation. He studied, he listened, he reflected. Once the truth was clear to him—that slavery was a moral evil that no compromise could justify—he acted, even though the cost was civil war. His greatness lay not only in knowing the truth, but in having the courage to let that truth guide him into what was right.

Contrast this with those who have pursued knowledge without concern for justice. In every age, there have been brilliant minds who discovered truths of nature, yet turned them toward cruelty, exploitation, or destruction. The horrors of modern warfare, built on scientific advancement, testify to this. To learn what is true without seeking what is right is to wield power without conscience. It is to be like a man who builds a ship but never learns how to steer it, dooming both himself and his passengers.

Huxley’s wisdom teaches us that truth and right cannot be separated. Truth without action is weakness; action without truth is chaos. But when truth informs action, and when action embodies truth, humanity rises to its highest dignity. The one who knows and does is the one who transforms the world. The one who knows but will not act is a shadow of what they might be.

The lesson is clear: do not seek knowledge merely to possess it, nor truth merely to win arguments. Seek truth as a sacred duty, so that your life may be aligned with what is right. When you discover injustice, let truth move you to confront it. When you discern what is false, let truth give you the courage to speak against it. Let no truth lie idle in your soul, but let it shape your hands, your words, your destiny.

Practically, this means cultivating both honesty and courage. Study diligently; ask questions; seek truth in books, in history, in the testimony of others, and in your own conscience. But when truth reveals itself, do not hide from it. Let it guide your choices—how you work, how you treat others, how you serve your community. For the true measure of wisdom is not what you know, but what you do with what you know.

So remember, children of tomorrow: "Learn what is true in order to do what is right." Let your pursuit of knowledge never be empty, and let your pursuit of justice never be blind. For the union of truth and righteousness is the path of greatness, the way of those who endure beyond their age, leaving behind a light for all who follow.