Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Wisdom
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“I am sufficiently intelligent to be able to differentiate between real falsehood, which is aimed at hurting people, and a wise moderation of so-called truth, whose only object is to simplify life for all concerned. (p. 198)”
Stig Dagerman (1923–1954) said by 1954 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise men of old have sent most of their morality down the stream of time in the light skiff of apothegm or epigram.”
Edwin Percy Whipple (1819–1886) said by 1886 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hail the mild morning, where the dawn began, The full fruition of the hopes of man. Where sage Experience seals the sacred cause, And that rare union, Liberty and Laws, Speaks to the reas'ning race “to freedom rise, Like them be equal, and like them be wise.”
Joel Barlow (1754–1812) said by 1812 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Almighty Freedom! give my venturous song The force, the charm that to thy voice belong; Tis thine to shape my course, to light my way, To nerve my country with the patriot lay, To teach all men where all their interest lies, How rulers may be just and nations wise: Strong in thy strength I bend no suppliant knee, Invoke no miracle, no Muse but thee.”
Joel Barlow (1754–1812) said by 1812 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The artist may rightly venture the opinion that he does not convey ideas, does not preach, nor that he intents to convert people by using mass communication techniques.. .Better than handing out all kinds of wise advice, he could show life itself; he could awake forces lying dormant in everybody, he could launch an invitation to create direct and personal experiences.”
Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men repent speaking ten times, for once that they repent keeping silence. It is an advantage to have concealed one's opinion; for by that means you may change your judgment of things (which every wise man fmds reason to do) and not be accused of fickleness.”
James Burgh (1714–1775) said by 1775 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, but they're [the Chinese] so wise. They have one word for 'crisis' and 'opportunity'." Yes, but they also have one word for 'China' and 'Tibet' and it's 'China', so fuck them.”
Dara Ó Briain (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You are wise, and know how to apply it.”
Thomas Brooks (Puritan) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe in all-wise-and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuals highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.”
John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Taste of Beauty, and the Relish of what is decent, just, and amiable, perfects the Character of the Gentleman, and the Philosopher. And the Study of such a Taste or Relish will, as we suppose, be ever the great Employment and Concern of him, who covets as well to be wise and good, as agreeable and polite.”
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713) said by 1713 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Saying confusing things isn’t the same as being witty.” “Ah,” the man said, eyes twinkling. “Already you prove yourself more wise than most who have been my acquaintance lately. What is it to be witty, then?” “To say clever things.” “And what is cleverness?” “I…” Why was he having this conversation? “I guess it’s the ability to say and do the right things at the right time.”
Brandon Sanderson (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life, if we would mark it, is made up of thousands of suggestions from some unseen quarter, prompting us to duty; starting some thought of what is wise and right and just and good; inclining us to thoughtfulness, to meditation, to prayer; making the soul dissatisfied with its present course, and drawing it along in the path of duty, benevolence, and peace.”
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) said by 1870 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have often had occasion to observe, that a warm blundering man does more for the world than a frigid wise man.”
Richard Cecil (clergyman) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I hold that we have a very imperfect knowledge of the works of nature till we view them as works of God,— not only as works of mechanism, but works of intelligence, not only as under laws, but under a Lawgiver, wise and good.”
James McCosh (1811–1894) said by 1894 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Christ died for the ungodly. And if you turn to Him at this moment with an honest heart, and receive Him simply as your Saviour and your God, I have the authority of His word for telling you that He will in no wise cast out.”
Dwight L. Moody (1837–1899) said by 1899 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any living cell carries with it the experiences of a billion years of experimentation by its ancestors. You cannot expect to explain so wise an old bird in a few simple words.”
Max Delbrück (1906–1981) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Life: The Magic Puzzle Box" (Dec. 1949) Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 38. pp. 173-190.
“And ninety-nine percent of the human race, no matter how smart they are, will do the convenient thing instead of the wise thing, and kid themselves into thinking they can somehow escape the consequences. We’re just built that way.”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The old man murmured: “Aye, we draw to an end. Dying hurts. Nonetheless the forefathers were wise who in their myths made Nan coequal with Lesu. A thing which endured forever would become unendurable. Death opens a way, for peoples as well as for people.”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And for what it’s worth, which in my professional opinion isn’t a bloody lot, I’ll pray for you.” “Pray to what?” Marge said. He smiled. The jukebox played “Wise Up Sucker” by Pop Will Eat Itself. “Fuck it,” the man said. “Tell you what. What’s the point collecting stuff you don’t use? I’ll pray to all of them.”
China Miéville (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A green economy begins to replace some of the clunking and chugging of ugly machines with the wise effort of beautiful, skilled people. That means more jobs.”
“We are not getting our ulcers being chased by Saber-tooth tigers, we're inventing our social stressors — and if some baboons are good at dealing with this, we should be able to as well. Insofar as we're smart enough to have invented this stuff and stupid enough to fall for it, we have the potential to be wise enough to keep the stuff in perspective.”
Robert Sapolsky (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must be wise task-masters, and not require of ourselves what we can not possibly perform. Recreation we must have. Otherwise, the strings of our soul, wound up to an unnatural tension, will break.”
Elizabeth Prentiss (1818–1878) first seen 1835 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 111. (April 13, 1835)
“I'm not sure what ministry really is, and that whatever it is, God seems to be kind enough to wrap it into our efforts and sometimes wise enough to bestow it in spite of them.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I suspect we would be wise,” he said without looking up, “to avoid declaring what God will or will not allow.”
Jack McDevitt (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God is no more intimidated by childish demands for instant gratification than are wise parents.”
Bill Hybels (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All teems with symbol; the wise man is the man who in any one thing can read another.”
Plotinus (205–270) said by 270 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When he was young, John Romero made a game for every letter of the alphabet. That was wise.”
John D. Carmack (born 1970) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On getting into game design, John Carmack on Twitter (June 14, 2011)
“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
Patrick Rothfuss (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A loving trust in the Author of the Bible is the best preparation for a wise study of the Bible.”
Henry Clay Trumbull (1830–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We know that men cannot be compelled to be good. They can only be prevented from being bad—a negative condition. We know from bitter experience that men cannot be forced into doing the wise thing, for such a forcement is foolishness.”
Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A people is not capable of governing itself. It ought to be governed by its elite. Namely, through that category of men born within its bosom who possess certain aptitudes and specialties. Just as the bees raise their "queen" a people must raise its elite. The multitude likewise, in its needs, appeals to its elite, the wise of the state.”
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God forgives; forgives not capriciously, but with wise, definite, Divine prearrangement; forgives universally, on the ground of an atonement, and on the condition of repentance and faith.”
Richard Salter Storrs (1821–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look, I learned from your uncle that when the universe turns out to be insane, the wise man embraces insanity.”
Bradley Denton (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wait, then, my soul! submissive wait, Prostrate before His awful seat; And 'mid the terrors of His rod, Trust in a wise and gracious God!”
Benjamin Beddome (1717–1795) first seen 1787 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors (1787), No. XI.
“An uniformity of weights and measures, arranged upon mathematical principles, would be a benefit to the whole commercial world, if it were wise enough to adopt such an expedient.”
Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He is one of those wise philanthropists who in a time of famine would vote for nothing but a supply of toothpicks.”
Douglas William Jerrold (1803–1857) said by 1857 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Douglas Jerrold's Wit, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Also quoted by: Douglas Jerrold
“He who has no mind to trade with the devil, should be so wise as to keep away from his shop.”
Robert South (1634–1716) said by 1716 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The strategically wise strategy for Ukraine is to break off its close relations with the West, especially with the United States, and try to accommodate the Russians. If there had been no decision to move nato eastward to include Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbass would be part of Ukraine today, and there would be no war in Ukraine.”
John Mearsheimer (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Toleration should be allowed to those who dissent from an Establishment, & that such Establishment should be guarded by a Test Law. Both these things are provided for in our happy Constitution, & it is not easy to see what should incline wise & good men to think otherwise.”
Richard Hurd (bishop) first seen 1798 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to George III (16 February 1801), quoted in The Later Correspondence of George III, Volume III: January 1798 to December 1801, ed. Arthur Aspinall (1967), p. 501
“You never stop being a parent, Adam, no matter how old or wise your child becomes—you'll see.”
Robert Charles Wilson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Each one fashions and bears his world with him, and that unless he himself become wise, strong and loving, no change in his circumstances can make him rich or free or happy.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If a state should pass laws forbidding its citizens to become wise and holy, it would be made a byword for all time. But this, in effect, is what our commercial, social, and political systems do. They compel the sacrifice of mental and moral power to money and dissipation.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If thy words are wise, they will not seem so to the foolish: if they are deep the shallow will not appreciate them. Think not highly of thyself, then, when thou art praised by many.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What a wise man knows seems so plain and simple to himself that he easily makes the mistake of thinking it to be so for others.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A Wise man knows that much of what he says and does is commonplace and trivial. His thoughts are not all solemn and sacred in his own eyes. He is able to laugh at himself and is not offended when others make him a subject whereon to exercise their wit.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Until the day when a wise black man can become our ambassador in Paris, we will forever be a pre-Brazil.”
Nelson Rodrigues (1912–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Illustration from the late 1900s up through the middle of the 20th century was absolutely amazing. In general, American culture was at its highest skill-wise in every aspect of human life in the 1940s. It's all been downhill since then. You just open an old magazine from the 1930s and '40s and look at the illustrations in it. There’s nobody alive that could touch the way they could draw back then.”
John Kricfalusi (born 1955) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Amid Amidi The John Kricfalusi Interview, Part 2, Cartoon Brew, August 31, 2004.
“No rules, however wise, are a substitute for affection and tact.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be happy, be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source