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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“Though many illusions are of a character we should gladly cherish, yet the sooner we lose some of them, the sooner we gain the power of seeing clearly into things. The one who possesses least has the best chance of becoming wise. The man who travels, and reflects, loses illusions faster than he who stays at home.”
Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904) said by 1904 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley 1909, p. 523)
“Hip is the sophistication of the wise primitive in a giant jungle.”
Norman Mailer (1923–2007) first seen 1957 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The White Negro", first published in Dissent (Summer 1957)
“Aaron is dead. Wanderers in this crazy world, we have lost a mentor, a wise elder. Hackers for right, we are one down, we have lost one of our own. Nurtures, careers, listeners, feeders, parents all, we have lost a child. Let us all weep.”
Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Eulogizing Aaron Swartz in W3C Mailing list (12 Jan 2013)
“What socialism, fascism and other ideologies of the left have in common is an assumption that some very wise people—like themselves—need to take decisions out of the hands of lesser people, like the rest of us, and impose those decisions by government fiat.”
Thomas Sowell (born 1930) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Socialist or Fascist?", Jewish World Review (June 12, 2012)
“If you're powerful and wise, you seek to bring stability and order and predictability and peace. That's what a father does in his family. That's what a good CEO does in a company. It's what a good general does.”
Tucker Carlson (born 1969) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ep 210 | Tucker Carlson Takes On Critics of His Interview with Putin | The Glenn Beck Podcast" on The Glenn Beck Program, found on DeepCast (21 February 2024)
“Who, then, is right? How can we all be right? Half of our wise men declare that the world is going straight to perdition; the other half that it is fast becoming perfect. Both cannot be right.”
Henry Adams (1838–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The plantation of Ulster, right or wrong, wise or unwise, beneficent or not, did take place; neither it nor its consequences can be pretended out of existence. The people of this province are part of the British nation, and the soil of this province is British soil, because the great majority of its inhabitants are so minded.”
Enoch Powell (1912–1998) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech quoted in 'Is he the alternative?', The Economist (8 July 1972), p. 19
“A boor cannot be sin-fearing, an ignoramus cannot be pious, a bashful one cannot learn, a short-tempered person cannot teach, nor does anyone who does much business grow wise.”
Hillel the Elder (101 BC–100) said by 100 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Hillel the Younger
“I appeal that these proposals should be examined, and, if found to be wise, adopted and carried out in that spirit of high and fearless patriotism and resolution which lifted this nation to such heights of endeavour and success but seven years ago.”
David Lloyd George (1863–1945) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Killerton Park, near Exeter, opening the Liberal land campaign (17 September 1925), quoted in The Times (18 September 1925), p. 14
“I am making no predictions and the Prime Minister is wise in taking that line, but I am perfectly certain that nothing will enable the German Empire for a generation or two to get anywhere near the same position of dominant force and menace that it was in before the War. I do not say they desire it—I do not believe there is any such desire in Germany at the present moment.”
David Lloyd George (1863–1945) first seen 1928 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (27 March 1928)
“When we are struggling against overwhelming odds, when we are pitting ourselves against the combined might of state apparatus and military power, we are sometimes subject to doubts — usually the doubts of those whose belief in the permanence of an existing order is absolute. It is amazing how many people still remain convinced that it is wise to accept the status quo.”
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who would administer wisely must, indeed, be wise, for one of the serious obstacles to the improvement of our race is indiscriminate charity.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wise men will soon conclude that, for the best interests of the members of their families and of the state, such bequests are an improper use of their means.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perfect love is rare indeed — for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain.”
Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but he that saith it never heard the sound of trumpets.”
Plutarch (40–120) said by 120 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For many, as Cranton tells us, and those very wise men, not now but long ago, have deplored the condition of human nature, esteeming life a punishment, and to be born a man the highest pitch of calamity; this, Aristotle tells us, Silenus declared when he was brought captive to Midas.”
Plutarch (40–120) said by 120 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Not to the swift, the race: Not to the strong, the fight: Not to the righteous, perfect grace: Not to the wise, the light.”
Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reliance, st. 1 (1904)
“Once one is caught up into the material world not one person in ten thousand finds the time to form literary taste, to examine the validity of philosophic concepts for himself, or to form what, for lack of a better phrase, I might call the wise and tragic sense of life.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald (5 October 1940)
“He would only come if she were unprepared. Or would he come only if she were prepared? With her lamp trimmed like the wise virgins? Christianity would tell her to buy food for two, but the pagans would say, 'Don't risk it.'”
Mary McCarthy (1912–1989) said by 1989 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The task of the wise government of so vast an empire may be an impossible one—I often fear it is so—we may fail in our efforts, but, whether we fail or succeed, let us do our best to compensate for the wrong of the past and the present by conferring on the Indian people whatever good it is in our power to give them.”
John Bright (1811–1889) first seen 1883 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Major Evans Bell (25 August 1883), quoted in The Public Letters of The Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., ed. H. J. Leech (1885), p. 282
“Our Fiji today is a new Fiji where individual freedom is protected and not a Fiji solely for Fijians. Wise decisions from this august house will promote multiracial harmony and true friendship.”
Frank Bainimarama (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All people need to know how AIDS is transmitted, and every country has an obligation to educate its citizens. This is why every country must also improve literacy, especially for women and girls, so that they can make wise choices that will keep them healthy and safe.”
Laura Bush (born 1946) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS (June 2, 2006)
“Would we if we could, educate and sophisticate pigs, geese, cattle? Would it be wise to establish diplomatic relations with the hen that now functions, satisfied with mere sense of achievement by way of compensation? I think we're property”
Charles Fort (1874–1932) said by 1932 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is usually not wise to discuss matters of costume with people like this, — politics or religion being far safer topicks.”
Thomas Pynchon (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I was young, I was extremely scared of dying, but now I think it a very, very wise arrangement. It’s like a light that is extinguished. Not very much to make a fuss about.”
Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Ingmar Bergman, Master Filmmaker, Dies at 89" by Mervyn Rothstein in The New York Times (31 July 2007)
“Your prudence, my wise friend, allows too little room for the mysterious whisperings of life.”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) said by 1850 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To Ralph Waldo Emerson, as quoted in "Humanity, said Edgar Allan Poe, is divided into Men, Women, and Margaret Fuller" Joseph Jay Deiss in American Heritage magazine, Vol. 23, Issue 5 (August 1972)
“Thou art greatly wise, my friend, and ever respected by me, yet I find not in your theory or your scope, room enough for the lyric inspirations, or the mysterious whispers of life. To me it seems that it is madder never to abandon oneself, than often to be infatuated; better to be wounded, a captive, and a slave, than always to walk in armor.”
Margaret Fuller (1810–1850) said by 1850 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don’t trouble more to celebrate this natal day of mine, But keep the grasp of fellowship which warms us more than wine. Let us thank the lavish hand that gives world beauty to our eyes, And bless the days that saw us young, and years that make us wise.”
Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) first seen 1905 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Verses read at a meeting of the Boston Authors' Club held in honor of her eighty-sixth birthday (May 27, 1905), in Thomas Wentworth Higginson, "Julia Ward Howe", The Outlook, vol. 85, no. 4 (January 26, 1907) p. 178
“When a people, having become free, establish wise laws, their revolution is complete.”
Louis Antoine de Saint-Just (1767–1794) first seen 1792 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (Autumn 1792) [Source: Oeuvres Complètes de Saint-Just, vol. 1 (2 vols., Paris, 1908), p. 264]
“Precedents deliberately established by wise men are entitled to great weight. They are evidence of truth, but only evidence...But a solitary precedent...which has never been reexamined, cannot be conclusive.”
Henry Clay (1777–1852) first seen 1835 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech, Senate (18 February 1835)
“It was a wise and useful provision of the ancients to transmit their thoughts to posterity by recording them in treatises, so that they should not be lost, but, being developed in succeeding generations through publications in books, should gradually attain in later times, to the highest refinement of learning.”
Vitruvius (80–15 BC) said by 15 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable. All these and other factors combined, if the circumstances are right, can teach and can lead to rebirth.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) first seen 1929 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1929-1932 (1973), p. 3
“If you are wise you will never pity the past for what it did not know, but pity yourself for what it did.”
John Fowles (1926–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps he was old and wise, perhaps he was just old.”
Michael Moorcock (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are obviously all hurt by inflation. Everybody is hurt by inflation. If you really wanted to examine who percentage-wise is hurt the most in their incomes, it is the Wall Street brokers. I mean their incomes have gone down the most.”
Alan Greenspan (1926–2026) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: At a conference on inflation, Washington, D.C. (September 19, 1974). In Report of the Health, Education, and Welfare, Income Security, Social Services Conference on Inflation (1974), pp. 804–5.
“A wise man distrusts his neighbor. A wiser man distrusts both his neighbor and himself. The wisest man of all distrusts his government.”
Taylor Caldwell (1900–1985) first seen 1952 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Devil's Advocate (1952)
“The more women there are about, the softer a wise man steps.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even a queen stubs her toe, but a wise woman watches the path.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man must know when to retreat from a woman, but a wise man knows that sometimes he must stand and face her.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And what has been hidden from the wise and the prudent been revealed in the mouth of the toddlers.”
Bob Marley (1945–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Is there really someone who, searching for a group of wise and sensitive persons to regulate him for his own good, would choose that group of people that constitute the membership of both houses of Congress?”
Robert Nozick (1938–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I saw rich beggars and poor beggars, proud beggars and humble beggars, fat beggars and thin beggars, healthy beggars and sick beggars, whole beggars and crippled beggars, wise beggars and stupid beggars. I saw amateur beggars and professional beggars. A professional beggar is a beggar who begs for a living.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Beggars" in The William Saroyan Reader (1958)
“I am enormously wise and abysmally ignorant.”
William Saroyan (1908–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise will make their anger cool At least before 'tis night.”
Isaac Watts (1674–1748) said by 1748 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The tall, the wise, the reverend head Must lie as low as ours.”
Isaac Watts (1674–1748) said by 1748 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the wise man is fortified against all inroads; he is alert; he will not retreat before the attack of poverty, or of sorrow, or of disgrace, or of pain. He will walk undaunted both against them and among them.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man is joyful, happy and calm, unshaken, he lives on a plane with the gods.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the wise man knows that all things are in store for him. Whatever happens, he says: “I knew it.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thus no fortune, no external circumstance, can shut off the wise man from action. For the very thing which engages his attention prevents him from attending to other things. He is ready for either outcome: if it brings goods, he controls them; if evils, he conquers them.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So the wise man will develop virtue, if he may, in the midst of wealth, or, if not, in poverty; if possible, in his own country—if not, in exile; if possible, as a commander—if not, as a common soldier; if possible, in sound health—if not, enfeebled. Whatever fortune he finds, he will accomplish therefrom something noteworthy.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source