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

English Italiano Polski עברית Français Português فارسی Español 中文 Русский Deutsch العربية हिन्दी 日本語 Ελληνικά Latina

Wisdom

Love Friendship Happiness Hope Fear Courage Death Life Time War Peace Freedom Truth Wisdom Knowledge Science Art Music Nature Money Work Power God Beauty Laughter Family Success and failure Change Dreams Books and reading

“I wish I was dead, And lay deep in the grave. I've a pain in my head, I wish I was dead. In a coffin of lead— With the Wise and the Brave— I wish I was dead, And lay deep in the grave.”
Maurice Baring (1874–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There he was. The infant Titus. His eyes were open but he was quite still. The puckered-up face of the newly-born child, old as the world, wise as the roots of trees. Sin was there and goodness, love, pity and horror, and even beauty for his eyes were pure violet. Earth’s passions, earth’s griefs, earth’s incongruous, ridiculous humours—dormant, yet visible in the wry pippin of a face.”
Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This extreme air of abstraction, of empty and bland removedness, was almost terrifying. It was that kind of unconcern that humbled the ardent, the passionate of nature, and made them wonder why they were expending so much energy of body and spirit when every day but led them to the worms. Deadyawn, by temperament or lack of it, achieved unwittingly what wise men crave: equipoise.”
Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Americans of tomorrow, the America that is every day nearer coming to be, will be too wise, too open-hearted, too friendly-handed, to let the least last-comer at their gates knock in vain with his gifts unwanted. ("America and I")”
Anzia Yezierska (1880–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O lovely chance, what can I do To give my gratefulness to you? You rise between myself and me With a wise persistency; I would have broken body and soul, But by your grace, still I am whole.”
Sara Teasdale (1884–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(Man in suit to Indian woman) Oh guru, ancient mother of the world, we men have been crippled. We have never learned how to feel; we don't even know how to cry. Oh my wise guru, can you teach me to cry? (Guru) Sure. No problem. Tomorrow I'll start you at a dead-end job, pay you at women's wages and then I'll throw in sole support of a pre-school child.”
Nicole Hollander (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You're sure There's a cure. And you have finally found it. You think One drink Will shrink you 'til you're underground And living down. But it's not going to stop. It's not going to stop. It's not going to stop 'Til you wise up.”
Aimee Mann (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is a wise man who said that there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals.”
Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Concurring, Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162, 184 (1950).
“I decided to say this after it was clear that over several years Saudis have been leaving for jihad. They did this because they are passionate about their religion but they are not wise enough to know right from wrong.”
Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh (1943–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you have an enemy it is wise to know his ways. The King knew as much about Grey as any man could know about another.”
James Clavell (1921–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Changi for me — of course it's easy to be wise after the event, and to discuss it cleverly after the event — was about as near as you can get to being dead and still be alive.”
James Clavell (1921–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Laws of justice which Hammurabi, the wise king, established.”
Hammurabi (1810–1750 BC) said by 1750 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Epilogue to the Code of Hammurabi (translated by Leonard William King, 1910)
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In that very hour he became overjoyed in the holy spirit and said: “I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones and have revealed them to young children. Yes, O Father, because this is the way you approved.”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at the Monogahela House (14 February 1861); as published in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953) by Roy P. Basler, vol. 4, p. 209
“They will never shoulder a musket again in anger, and if Grant is wise, he will leave them their guns to shoot crows with and their horses to plow with. It would do no harm.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding the treatment of former Confederate soldiers. In Richmond, Virginia (April 4, 1865), as quoted in Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War (1885), by David Dixon Porter, p. 312
“It is a wise father that knows his own child.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A dead father's counsel, a wise son heedeth.”
Esaias Tegnér (1782–1846) said by 1846 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will not beg your forgiveness,” she said. Only her voice betrayed her fear; it was not its usual strong, clear tone. “I did what I felt was right.” “Of course you did,” I said. “It was the wise thing to do.”
N. K. Jemisin (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why couldn't someone have patience for me? Why couldn't someone be wise to my fears? Tell me why couldn't somebody cry for me This time? And if I should die, who'll be the first to cry?”
Happy Rhodes (born 1965) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The First To Cry" - Live performance New Haven, CT (4 April 2003)
“Her eyes upon him were soft. Civilized people act upon intellectualized motives. They decide what is wise, and sometimes do it. But when they are swayed by purest primitive instincts they are usually happier. Hana was responding to one of the most ancient of all known human impulses—admiration of a proved warrior.”
Murray Leinster (1896–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The foolish read to escape reality; the wise surrender to it.”
Tom Heehler wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One must be a wise reader to quote wisely and well.”
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888) said by 1888 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Amos Bronson Alcott (attributed)
“Rocking on a lazy billow With roaming eyes, Cushioned on a dreamy pillow, Thou art now wise. Wake the power within thee slumbering, Trim the plot that's in thy keeping, Thou wilt bless the task when reaping Sweet labour's prize.”
John Stuart Blackie (1809–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the Edinburgh Students. Quoted by Lord Iddlesleigh, Desultory Reading; reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 756.
“Fill up the goblet and reach to me some! Drinking makes wise, but dry fasting makes glum.”
William R. Alger (1822–1905) said by 1905 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A thousand years a poor man watched Before the gate of Paradise: But while one little nap he snatched, It oped and shut. Ah! was he wise?”
William R. Alger (1822–1905) said by 1905 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man who has charge of governing the empire should know the cause of disorder before he can put it in order. Unless he knows its cause, he cannot regulate it.”
Mozi (470–391 BC) said by 391 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Servetus] is a wise man who doubtless thought he was teaching the truth, but he fell into the hands of the Devil. . . . Be careful the same thing does not happen to you!”
William Farel (1489–1565) first seen 1553 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On October 27, 1553, Michael Servetus was burned at the stake in Geneva, Switzerland. Guillaume Farel —the executioner and vicar of John Calvin— warned the onlookers with these words. Awake! magazine, May 2006; Michael …
“Now reigneth pride in prize and covetousness is held wise, and lechery without shame and gluttony without blame. Envy reigneth with treason and sloth is taken in great season. God do boot, for now is time. Amen.”
John Ball (priest) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'Tis well to be merry and wise, 'Tis well to be honest and true; 'Tis well to be off with the old love, Before you are on with the new.”
Charles Maturin (1782–1824) first seen 1816 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Motto to "Bertram," produced at Drury Lane, 1816.
“No age is wanting in able men; it is the duty of wise masters to find them out, win them over, and get work done by means of them, without listening to the calumnies of selfish men against them.”
Aurangzeb (1618–1707) said by 1707 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ruqat-i-Alamgiri, as quoted in Later Mughals : Volume II : 1719-1739 (1922) by Irvine William Irvine
“The second level of legitimation contains theoretical propositions in a rudimentary form. Here may be found various explanatory schemes relating sets of objective meanings. These schemes are highly pragmatic, directly related to concrete actions. Proverbs, moral maxims and wise sayings are common on this level. Here, too, belong legends and folk tales, frequently transmitted in poetic forms.”
Peter L. Berger (1929–2017) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (1991; 112)
“From our humble beginning as a supply town for miners, to the national leader in smart growth and environmental stewardship we are today, Boulder has always been dedicated to the careful balance of entrepreneurship and wise land use.”
Jared Polis (born 1975) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: , "Boulder, Colorado's Sesquicentennial", , June 25, 2009.
“God pity the man or the nation wise in proverbs, I told myself, for there is much misery and much error gone into the collecting of such a store.”
Kenneth Burke (1897–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[We do not]... blame, but rather pity, in our innermost heart, the "wise men" of our age for trying to carry out the only policy that will keep them on the pinnacle of their "authority"; as they could not, if even they would, act otherwise and preserve their prestige with the masses, or escape from being speedily outcast by their colleagues.”
Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He is one of the noblest conquerors who carries on a successful warfare against his own appetites and passions, and has them under wise and full control.”
Tryon Edwards (1809–1894) said by 1894 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now it is possible that wants and the exercise of faculties have entered in some manner into the production of the phenomena which we have been considering; but certainly not in the way suggested by Lamarck, whose whole notion is obviously so inadequate to account for the rise of the organic kingdoms, that we only can place it with pity among the follies of the wise.”
Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Wise Man is that which he hath. The precious Pearl of Paradise Wouldst thou not lose, then must thou be Thyself that Pearl of greatest price.”
Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) said by 1677 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No thought for the hereafter have the wise, for on this very earth they live in paradise”
Angelus Silesius (1624–1677) said by 1677 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Experience taught me that it is wise to be patient and forbearing with opponents and to use the divine cure of repeling with what is best (then verily he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend.) Quran 41:34”
Salman al-Ouda (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not wise to think of people as either friends or enemies as if you were the center of the universe; many are not aware of your existence!”
Salman al-Ouda (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us do our thinking on these great questions, not with our eyes fixed on our bank account, but with a wise outlook on the fields of the future and with the consciousness that the spirit of the Eternal is seeking to distil from our lives, some essence of righteousness, before they pass away.”
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When one is considering systems it's always wise to raise questions about the most obvious and simple assumptions.”
C. West Churchman (1913–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The desolation of loneliness is terrible. Was I wise? Perhaps not, but it seemed as though anything else was impossible.”
Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) first seen 1866 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notebook entry on his estrangement from the Labour Party (27 December 1932), quoted in David Marquand, "MacDonald, (James) Ramsay (1866–1937)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; onl…
“A wise psychiatrist once said to me, "People want to get better, but they don't want to change." But I would propose that it is only by allowing people born with horizontal identities not to change that one allows them to get better. Any of us can be a better version of himself, but none of us can be someone else.”
Andrew Solomon (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Odds that you will die at some point in your life: 1 in 1. Thus, you might say the greatest, most significant, and universal risk factor in death is being born. This implies that it really isn't very helpful to approach the subject of risk by focusing on how we might die; rather, it's far wise to consider how we should live and what risk we will live with.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They’re everything that’s wrong in this instant-coffee and microwave age. ‘I want it now.’ There used to be that romantic image of going off to Tibet and climbing the mountain to speak to the wise man. And when you got to the top, he could tell you the truths of the universe. Now people wanna take a helicopter to the top—or e-mail him!”
Malcolm Azania (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source