Quod in iuventute non discitur, in matura aetate nescitur.
(Cassiodorus, Variae 1.24)

What is not learned in youth is not known in later years.

(pron = kwod in yoo-wen-TOO-tay nohn DIS-kih-toor, in mah-TOO-rah aiy-TAH-tay
NES-kih-toor)

Comment: Sayings like these make me want to go out and put that old bumper
sticker on my car: “QUESTION EVERYTHING”. I suspect that if you ran this
saying quickly by most people, it would get nods of approval. It just sounds
right. How can adults who were not taught certain things know them later in
life? Likewise, good, solid citizens in adult life were those who received
good educations and were taught the difference in right and wrong as children.

What if, as a child, you were taught that white skinned people were superior to
dark skinned people? According to this proverb, you have no chance as an adult
of knowing how to be tolerant and accepting of all human beings. You will
simply be a racist.

What if as a child, you were taught that sharing what you have with others is a
virtue that you ought to practice all your life? According to this proverb,
you won’t ever struggle with selfishness.

Question everything.

The real question that I have of this proverb is regarding the childhood
learning. What sort of limits were placed on the child’s learning? Whose
limits? Whose prejudices? Whose experiences informed the child’s learning?
Was the child encouraged to discover, seek, question, reflect, ponder,
experience, feel and observe for him/herself? If so, then adulthood will be no
different from childhood. It will continue to be one continuous journey of
wonder and awe at the universe. If not, then, still, there is a chance, as an
adult, that he/she may open a door and break out of the barriers that were
placed around him/her as a child.

What were you taught as a child, that needs to be questioned today?