"Call him wise whose actions, words, and steps are all a clear because to a clear why"
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Wisdom here isnt a trophy for the mind; its a kind of clean alignment. Teasdale turns the concept into choreography: actions, words, steps. Not ideas, not intentions, not even feelings, but the outward trail a person leaves behind. The phrase "a clear because to a clear why" has the snap of a moral equation, but it also carries Teasdales poet instinct for breath and balance. Repeating "clear" makes the standard sound almost ruthless. If your reasons are muddy, you dont get to call it wisdom just because it worked out.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke to performative intelligence. In a culture that often crowns clever talk as insight, Teasdale insists on coherence over charisma: what you do and what you say should be traceable back to a purpose that can survive daylight. "Because" is the everyday word we use to justify ourselves; "why" is the deeper motive we hesitate to name. By yoking them together, she exposes how easily a plausible explanation can mask a confused or self-serving aim.
Context matters. Writing in the early 20th century, Teasdale lived through modernitys churn-war, rapid social change, the commodification of sentiment-and her work often prizes clarity as a form of emotional ethics. This line reads like a compact manifesto against drift: be the kind of person whose life can be read without footnotes.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke to performative intelligence. In a culture that often crowns clever talk as insight, Teasdale insists on coherence over charisma: what you do and what you say should be traceable back to a purpose that can survive daylight. "Because" is the everyday word we use to justify ourselves; "why" is the deeper motive we hesitate to name. By yoking them together, she exposes how easily a plausible explanation can mask a confused or self-serving aim.
Context matters. Writing in the early 20th century, Teasdale lived through modernitys churn-war, rapid social change, the commodification of sentiment-and her work often prizes clarity as a form of emotional ethics. This line reads like a compact manifesto against drift: be the kind of person whose life can be read without footnotes.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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