Is it more preferable to be a wise man in a generation of cretins or a wise man in a generation of the wise? A single wise man's name may last for decades but the work of a generation's wisdom will last for an eternity. It is as much the job of the seeing to lead the blind to water as it is the job of the wise to lead the sheep of society to enlightenment. The role of the wise is, at its core, to lead, while the rest of mankind must choose either to learn from their knowledge or follow it blindly. While to learn is always the favored option, the way of Nature is that the majority of men shall walk the path that sounds the most agreeable to them without question. Thus, it is the few among them that are philosophers and teachers who must rise up to create a wise generation, rather than hoard their intellect for their own ambitions. It should, in the depth of their own ego's and personal intents, be remembered that the knowledge of great minds is quickly and easily lost—but the actions of a society working together in mass are not easily erased from the pages of history.