Mishlei 13:15 - The Social Repercussions of One's Relationship with Knowledge

משלי יג:טו

שֵׂכֶל טוֹב יִתֶּן חֵן וְדֶרֶךְ בֹּגְדִים אֵיתָן:

Mishlei 13:15
A good intellect bestows grace, but the way of the violent is harsh.

Notes on Translation

• Rashi translates "אֵיתָן" as "קשה" which we understood to mean "harsh." 
• The term "בֹּגְדִים" is difficult to translate, in general. I've seen it translated as "rebels," "traitors," "the faithless," and "the violent." In this context, I think "violent" makes the most sense.
• I usually translate "דֶרֶךְ" as "path," but "way" makes more sense here. 

Major Questions / Difficulties

1. What is meant by "a good intellect"? That is quite a vague description.
2. What type of "grace" is the pasuk talking about?
3. How does a good intellect bestow such grace?
4. What is a "violent [person]" in this context?
5. What does it mean by "the way of the violent"?
6. In what sense is it "harsh"?
7. How are the two halves of the pasuk opposites? "A person with a good intellect" and "the violent" don't seem to correlate. Moreover, why does the first half talk about the quality of the person's intellect, whereas the second half talks about the derech (way)?

Photo Title: The Modern בוגד

Four-sentence Summary of the Main Idea

A “good intellect” is one that seeks knowledge lishmah (for its own sake), and the person who has this orientation towards knowledge will possess a special type of charisma. People will sense that he relates to them as fellow truth-seekers, working together to learn from each other and with each other to increase their understanding of reality. In contrast, a person with a “bad intellect” is someone who views knowledge as a competition, whose goal in discourse is to prevail over others in order to demonstrate his superior intellectual prowess. He will come off as harsh, antagonistic, and violent, always needing to assert his own dominance to convince others that he is right; those who engage in discussion with him will sense that he is either trying to win them over to his side, or defeat them.