با خنده راهتان را تا بهشت طی کنید، قسمت ۳ از ۸

Once, a learned man was crossing a river wishing to enjoy himself, he began to talk to a boatman. “Do you know mathematics?” he asked. “No, sir,” replied the boatman. “Then you have lost one quarter of your life,” said the learned man. Then he continued, “Do you know history?” “No, sir,” answered the boatman. And then the scholar said again, “Then you have lost half of your life.” And then he asked again, “Do you know philosophy?” The boatman said, “I don’t know that either, sir.” Then the scholar said, “Then you have lost three-quarters of your life.” Just then, a sudden wind turned the boat upside down. And the boatman asked the customer, “Do you know how to swim, sir?” He said, “No.” Replied the great learned man. Then the boatman said, “Then you have lost your whole life.” What is important. Most people, they put great emphasis on a lot of learning, which is not useful at all. I don’t dare say anything, but if you ask me for a list, it is a forever list. I will never finish writing it, all these useless subjects that people put a great emphasis of importance on. […]

At the lecture series, a very poor speaker was on the platform. As he was speaking, people in the audience began to get up and leave. After about ten minutes, there was only one man left. Finally, the man stopped speaking and asked the man why he remained to the end. He said, “I’m the next speaker.”