Can We Tell What We Know?
There is a sort of stock expression, common to certain egotistic teachers, "You can tell it if you know it," or, "If you knew it, you could tell it." Every thinking soul knows better. The artist knows better. He often sees what he can not tell. The poet knows better; he can not find words to embody the beautiful thought. The Christian knows better; no words can tell the wonderful peace, rest, and joy revealed in communion with his Lord. And even science stands in the same category. It is said of the late Prof. R. W. E. Von Bunsen, a noted chemist discoverer and inventor, "that he could not answer verbal questions, either oral or written, and could not have passed a decent examination upon his own discoveries." But did he not know?