Most people have probably heard the expression “don’t cast pearls before swine”, but until recently I had not stopped to think about what that phrase actually means. It, of course, does not refer to throwing actual pearls to actual pigs, but giving something precious to someone who does not work for it or appreciate what it is capable of. When thinking of it in this context, I remembered what Patrick Henry said, “Liberty… give us that precious jewel and you may have everything else.” Pearls are precious jewels, just as Patrick Henry says liberty is. Liberty is something everyone should have, but only those who work toward it are able to obtain it. Because “there is no liberty without virtue”, it is impossible to obtain liberty if you do not work to earn it and it cannot just be given to everyone regardless of their virtue because they will not be capable of protecting it. The same applies to knowledge. We cannot expect knowledge to just be thrown at us if we have done absolutely nothing on our side in order to obtain it. It takes work, time, and desire in order to gain knowledge, but it can also be seen as a precious jewel. Overall, anything that is precious or worth anything cannot be obtained through little or no effort. If it is of any real value, it must be earned. Though this post is short, I encourage you all to think about it, and think about what you are willing to do in order to obtain those things that are truly precious jewels.

Yours truly,

Publius