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Wisdom

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“Whilom, ere youth’s conceit had waned, me thought Answers to all life’s problems I had wrought; But now, grown old and wise, too late I see My life is spent, and all my lore is nought.”
Omar Khayyám (1048–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thanks to the wise legislators of the past who had allowed our native land to go out of cultivation and left us dependent upon other countries for our food supplies, all that an invading force would be required to do would be to stop our food supplies coming in; the gaunt enemy of hunger would do all the invader's work.”
Keir Hardie (1856–1915) first seen 1911 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the annual meeting of the Liverpool Peace Society (19 April 1911), quoted in The Times (20 April 1911), p. 12
“It was clear to all there gathered that power is a dreadful thing, and that knowledge of power dims the seeing of the wise.”
Stephen R. Donaldson (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one person has the right to withhold knowledge from another. No one is wise enough.”
Stephen R. Donaldson (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Whites were in full control ... remnants were shifted about again and again... All of which led Sioux chief Spotted Tail, grown old and wise, to ask the weary question: "Why does not the Great Father put his red children on wheels, so he can move them as he will?”
Peter Farb (1929–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The pedant interprets the simplicity and the humility of the wise man as ignorance.”
Josemaría Escrivá (1902–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People of Kommagini, let the glory of Antiochos, the noble king, be celebrated as it deserves. He was a provident ruler of the country. He was just, wise, courageous. In addition he was that best of all things, Hellenic — mankind has no quality more precious: everything beyond that belongs to the gods.”
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) first seen 1923 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epitaph of Antiochos, King of Kommagini" (1923)
“Of what’s to come the wise perceive things about to happen. Sometimes during moments of intense study their hearing’s troubled: the hidden sound of things approaching reaches them, and they listen reverently, while in the street outside the people hear nothing whatsoever.”
Constantine P. Cavafy (1863–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My mustache speaks to me... it says, 'Together, we will return the NBA to the glory of its mustache days. Pistol Pete, Kurt Rambis and Clyde Frazier.' And in the offseason, my mustache and I will drive around in a muscle car solving mysteries. Times will be good. My mustache is very wise.”
Adam Morrison (born 1984) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2006 Commercial for EA Sports NBA Live 07.
“Look who's alone now, It's not me, it's not me. Those three wise men, They've got a semi by the sea. Got to ask yourself the question, Where are you now? Got to ask yourself the question, Where are you now?”
James Blunt (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some have argued convincingly that this antichrist will rise up out of Syria and the three kings he takes over (by flatteries? Daniel 11:21-34) as he waxes great (Daniel 8:9) are: toward the south (Jordan), toward the east (Iraq), and toward the pleasant land (Lebanon—near Israel, the pleasant land). I’m not sure if this is true but it would be wise to keep an eye on that region!”
Kent Hovind (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here there are warlocks and mandragoras and witches," the navigation data log issued. "When your machines start to go droll on you you're in trouble," Roadstrum growled. "I can get wise answers from my men. I don't need a machine for that.”
R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002) said by 2002 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“1978. If thou art wise, thou knowest thy own Ignorance; and thou art ignorant if thou knowest not thy self.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“2462. Thou canst scarcely be truly wise till thou hast been deceived. Thy own Errors will teach thee more Prudence, than the grave Precepts, and even Examples of others.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“2591. If I leave thee a moderate Fortune, as my Father left me, and thou provest wise and virtuous, it will be sufficient. It's none of the least of God's Favours, that Wealth comes not trolling in upon us ; for many of us should have been worse, if our Estates had been better.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) first seen 1751 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Compare Poor Richard's Almanack (1751) : Many a Man would have been worse, if his Estate had been better.
“3866. Penny-wise, and Pound-foolish.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“6080. Early to go to Bed, and early to rise, Will make a Man Healthy, Wealthy and Wise.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) first seen 1735 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Compare Poor Richard's Almanack (1735) : Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
“6164. To the Wise A Word may suffice.”
Thomas Fuller (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One must preach life, not death; spread hope, not fear and cultivate joy, man's most valuable treasure. That is the secret of the greatest of the wise, and it will be the light of tomorrow. Passions are sad. Hatred is sad. Joy destroys passions and hatred. Let us begin by telling ourselves that sadness is never noble, beautiful or useful.”
Émile Chartier (1868–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I always knew what I wanted to do with my life and career, but I was helped along the way by a few people. I didn't need telling, but when people like Franco (Zola), Wisey (Dennis Wise) and Marcel (Desailly) take the time out to say, 'You've got the world at your feet if you do things right', then you think there must be something to it.”
John Terry (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humility is the fruit of inner security and wise maturity. To be humble is to be so sure of one’s self and one’s mission that one can forego calling excessive attention to one’s self and status. And, even more pointedly, to be humble is to revel in the accomplishments or potentials of others -- especially those with whom one identifies and to whom one is linked organically. (p38)”
Cornel West (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Originally I was supposed to do Grand Prix, but I was under contract to 20th Century Fox at that time and Alex North was supposed to do Sand Pebbles, but he got sick, so Fox preempted me out of Grand Prix, and to my good fortune, I got to do Sand Pebbles. It was my first time working with Robert Wise and it was a great experience.”
Jerry Goldsmith (1929–2004) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: AOL Online Host (1995-07-11)
“If I only wrote Easy Rawlins, I might be a lot more successful, money-wise and stuff, but the work would be dead.”
Walter Mosley (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We wish to continue in following up the legacy of the Second Vatican Council whose wise regulations have still to be led to their fulfilment, being careful that a push, generous perhaps, but unduly timed, does not detract from the content and meaning of the council, and on the other hand being careful and reined and timid efforts do not slow up the magnificent drive of renewal and of life.”
Pope John Paul I (1912–1978) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the crowd in St Peter's Square (27 August 1978), as quoted in "Pope John Paul will continue policy of reform" by Peter Nichols, in The Times (28 August 1978), p. 1
“It is said that heaven does not create one man above or below another man. Any existing distinction between the wise and the stupid, between the rich and the poor, comes down to a matter of education.”
Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835–1901) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Gakumon no Susume [An Encouragement of Learning] (1872–1876).
“A wise man once said, "Convention is like the shell to the chick, a protection till he is strong enough to break it through.”
Learned Hand (1872–1961) first seen 1927 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Preservation of Personality" commencement address at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (2 June 1927); also in The Spirit of Liberty: Papers and Addresses (1952), p. 32.
“Be wise; Soar not too high, to fall; but stoop to rise.”
Philip Massinger (1583–1640) first seen 1623 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Duke of Milan (1623), Act I, scene ii
“Good political leadership for me involves getting the big decisions right - however difficult, however controversial, however potentially divisive and then being able to take people with you. And that requires something else as well - being wise enough to know when it's time to listen.”
Charles Kennedy (1959–2015) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech given to the 2005 Liberal Democrat Party Conference
“Certainly after Titanic, where my face was put on every magazine cover around the world and the movie was such a phenomenon, I really had no control over that. So for the last couple of years, media-wise I've been trying to regain some control in what people say about me.”
Leonardo DiCaprio (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well it's a risk to do a movie of this calibre on a subject matter and a point in history people are not very familiar with. It's a tough subject to sell - so salary-wise you have to make sacrifices to make a certain film happen. I would have been an idiot to pass up the opportunity to work with Mr Scorsese.”
Leonardo DiCaprio (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The worshipers of God find, above all in the order of the universe, an invincible proof of this existence of an intelligent and wise being, who governs it. But this order is nothing but a series of movements necessarily produced by causes or circumstances, which are sometimes favourable, and sometimes hurtful to us: we approve of some, and complain of others.”
Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789) said by 1789 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Can imagination act Perpendicular to fact? Can it be a kite that flies Till the Earth, umbrella-wise, Folds and drops away from sight?”
Philip José Farmer (1918–2009) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Imagination" in America Sings (1949); re-published in Pearls From Peoria (2006)
“I have on my office wall a wise and useful reminder by Anne Morrow Lindbergh concerning one of the realities of life. She wrote, "My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds." That's good counsel for us all, not as an excuse to forgo duty, but as a sage point about pace and the need for quality in relationships.”
Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Deposition of a Disciple, 1976, Deseret Book Co. (Salt Lake City), p. 5.
“All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.”
Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, come with old Khayyám, and leave the Wise To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies; One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.”
Edward FitzGerald (poet) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: XXVI (1st ed. 1859)
“It is by a wise economy of nature that those who suffer without change, and whom no one can help, become uninteresting. Yet so it may happen that those who need sympathy the most often attract it the least.”
F. H. Bradley (1846–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It would be as wise to set up an accomplished lawyer to saw wood as a business as to condemn an educated and sensible woman to spend all her time boiling potatoes and patching old garments. Yet this is the lot of many a one who incessantly stitches and boils and bakes, compelled to thrust back out of sight the aspirations which fill her soul.”
Sarah Grimké (1792–1873) first seen 1852 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Written in 1852, as quoted in ch. 87.
“The atomic bomb is a marvelous gift that was given to our country by a wise God.”
Phyllis Schlafly (1924–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The pleasures of self-approbation, together with the right cultivation of all our pleasures, require individual independence. Without independence men cannot become either wise, or useful, or happy.”
William Godwin (1756–1836) said by 1836 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You must not judge people by their country. In South America, it is always wise to judge people by their altitude.”
Paul Theroux (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The foolish reject what they see and not what they think; the wise reject what they think and not what they see.”
Huangbo Xiyun (800–855) said by 855 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Visions from Earth (2004) by James R. Miller, p. 17
“A wise parent humours the desire for independent action, so as to become the friend and adviser when his absolute rule shall cease.”
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) first seen 1854 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: North and South, ch. 15 (1854-5)
“The health of the soul is to have its faculties, reason, high spirit and desire happily tempered, with the reason in command and reining in the other two, like restive horses. The special name of this health is temperance, that is σωφροσύνη or “thought-preserving,” for it creates a preservation of one of our powers, namely that of wise-thinking.”
Philo (15 BC–50) said by 50 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They in their desire for health commit themselves to physicians, but these people show no willingness to cast off the soul-sickness of their untrained grossness by resorting to wise men....”
Philo (15 BC–50) said by 50 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing will a man rue more than refusal to listen to the wise.”
Philo (15 BC–50) said by 50 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A far greater glory is it to the wise to die for freedom, the love of which stands in very truth implanted in the soul like nothing else, not as a casual adjunct but an essential part of its unity, and cannot be amputated without the whole system being destroyed as a result.”
Philo (15 BC–50) said by 50 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The silence of a wise man is always meaningful.”
Leo Strauss (1899–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But with respect to future debt; would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare in the constitution they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself can validly contract more debt, than they may pay within their own age, or within the term of 19 years.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1789 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to James Madison (6 September 1789) ME 7:455, Papers 15:393
“It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this. Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.”
Max Lucado (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We see only the script and not the paper on which the script is written. The paper is there, whether the script is on it or not. To those who look upon the script as real, you have to say that it is unreal--an illusion--since it rests upon paper. The wise person looks upon both paper and script as one.”
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source