The Book of Life

pages of wisdom Bravery and fearlessness are admirable qualities. But human beings, after all, have limitations. No one can bear absolute bravery or unlimited fearlessness. That is why, along with courage and boldness, caution is also necessary. A person must learn to act with wisdom and prudence. An unwise leap is just as wrong as a cowardly retreat. CONVENTIONAL THINKING E lias Howe (1819–1867) was an ordinary craftsman from Massachusetts, one of America’s well-known states. He died at the young age of just 48. Yet he gave the world something that brought a revolution in clothing production. This was the sewing machine, which he invented in 1845. The machine Howe first built had a needle with the hole near the base, like ordinary hand needles. For thousands of years, people had been putting the hole at the base of the needle, so when Howe designed his sewing machine, he followed the same practice. But because of this, his machine didn’t work properly. At first, it could only stitch shoes. Sewing cloth was not possible on it. For a long time, Howe struggled with this problem but couldn’t find a solution. Then he had a dream—and that dream gave him the answer. In it, he saw that men from a wild tribe had captured him and ordered him to make a sewing machine within 24 hours or be killed. He tried,