# CXXXI explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A single aphorism asserting that intellectual training naturally cultivates moral character, and defining a rascal as one who lacks the ability to think.

## Key lines

> Train the head, and the heart will take care of itself; a rascal is one who knows not how to think.

Educate the mind, and moral virtue will follow naturally; a scoundrel is simply someone who has never learned to reason.

_The chapter reduces moral failure to a failure of intellect, suggesting that thoughtfulness is the root of goodness._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/cxxxi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters