Famous quotes
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Wisdom
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“I was born a vegetarian. … I feel there is no need to cause another living thing pain or harm. There are so many other things we can eat. I have never eaten meat in my life, and I’m 5 foot 10 and not exactly wasting away. A wise man once said, ‘Animals are my friends, and I’m not in the habit of eating my friends.’ That is exactly how I feel.”
Joss Stone (born 1987) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in "Introducing Joss Stone’s Vegetarian PSA", in peta2.com (13 March 2007). Also quoted in "Soul diva Stone in veggie ad", in Mirror.co.uk (15 March 2007).
“When the wise plant developer goes into his garden or orchard... his eyes turn always first and foremost to the leaves...”
Luther Burbank (1849–1926) said by 1926 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The mere crossing of species, unaccompanied by selection, wise supervision, intelligent care, and the utmost patience, is not likely to result in marked good, and may result in vast harm. Unorganized effort is often most vicious in its tendencies.”
Luther Burbank (1849–1926) said by 1926 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let me lay emphasis on the opportunity now presented in the United States for observing and, if we are wise, aiding in what I think it fair to say is the grandest opportunity ever presented of developing the finest race the world has ever known out of the vast mingling of races brought here by immigration.”
Luther Burbank (1849–1926) said by 1926 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At one end of the intellectual spectrum are the wise, those who know they don't know much; and on the other end are the egotists, those who have little, if any, awareness of how little they know.”
Leonard E. Read (1898–1983) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Leonard Read Journals, September 6, 1959
“A wise psychoanalyst once told me, “Stop looking at what you’re saying, look at what you’re doing.”
Corey Robin (born 1967) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A wise psychoanalyst once told me (sort of): look at what Trump does, not what he says" (2017)
“By serving wise and ignorant sadhus, I am learning the greatest of virtues, pleasing to God above all others — humility.”
Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He only is wise who devotes himself to realizing, not reading only, the ancient revelations.”
Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the faults of the many, judge not the whole. Everything on earth is of mixed character, like a mingling of sand and sugar. Be like the wise ant which seizes only the sugar, and leaves the sand untouched.”
Mahavatar Babaji wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All men are born condemned, so the wise say. All suckle the breast of Death. All bow before that Shadow Monarch. That Lord in Shadow lifts a finger. A feather flutters to the earth. There is no reason in His song. The good go young. The wicked prosper. He is king of the Chaos Lands. His breath stills all souls.”
“Hundreds of wise men cannot make the world a heaven, but one idiot is enough to turn it into a hell.”
Raheel Farooq wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today, certain people file for bankruptcy, businesses and individuals, and it no longer has the stigma it once had. Now it's almost considered wise, a way to regroup and come back again.”
David Dinkins (1927–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Merlin and Solomon can tell you how well the wise and learned can withstand the foolishness of love!”
John C. Wright (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not enough for a wise man to study nature and truth; he should dare state truth for the benefit of the few who are willing and able to think.”
Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709–1751) said by 1751 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truly wise man is he who loves virtue for its own sake.”
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anarchism being immediately impracticable, let us have a government which governs as little as possible. Lord Melbourne's attitude of mind should be commended for imitation to all Prime Ministers. On being pressed by less wise members of his Cabinet to further certain legislation, he replied, "Must we really do something – why not let well alone?" (pp. 119–20)”
William Darling (politician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It will not be wise, however, to engage in a blind rat-race of consumption and production as if man is created for the sole purpose of consumption.”
Deendayal Upadhyaya (1916–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: —Deendayal Upadhyaya, thinker and forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party quoted from Malhotra, R. (2021). Artificial intelligence and the future of power: 5 battlegrounds. New Delhi : Rupa, 2021.
“Man is wise ... when he recognises no greater enemy than himself.”
Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549) said by 1549 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Like Enki, king of the abzu, I am successful in finding solutions, and am wise in words.”
Shulgi (died 2045 BC) said by 2045 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poets, essayists, chroniclers, wags, and wise men write often about death but have rarely seem it. Physicians and nurses, who see it often, rarely write about it.”
Sherwin B. Nuland (1930–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906, by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on the work, died similarly in 1933. Now it is our turn to study statistical mechanics. Perhaps it will be wise to approach the subject cautiously.”
David Goodstein (1939–2024) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: States of Matter (1974) p. 1.
“Those feats of deep cunning and brave flair—we’re all allotted a few of them, and we get no more, no matter what our longing is. And you know, you’re lucky if you even recognize when you’re having your best moments. Half the time your soul is looking the other way when they come. And you never grow wise enough to know what they were until you have passed the hope of having more.”
Michael Shea (1946–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Now is the perfect opportunity to revive] the wise and prudent policy constantly followed by the French monarchy, which consisted in putting the German colossus to sleep, dividing it, enfeebling it, profiting from its religious quarrels, its territorial divisions, the rivalry among its princes, its lack of money, its backward civilization.”
Jacques Bainville (1879–1936) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement (17 March 1919), Journal, II, 1919–1926 (1949), quoted in William R. Keylor, Jacques Bainville and the Renaissance of Royalist History in Twentieth-Century France (1979), p. 134
“[E]ven a great man cannot be wise in everything.”
Allen C. Guelzo (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke: "theres actually zero difference between good & bad things. you imbecile. you fucking moron”
“DUMBASS: SHut the fuck up THE WISE MAN: No you shut the fuck up”
“Just what is your position here?” “I’m an adviser to his Majesty.” Nicodaeus smiled blandly. “He thinks I’m a master of magic, of course, but among these feather-heads a little common sense is sufficient to earn one a reputation as a wise man.”
Keith Laumer (1925–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“..Paradise is only at a place where no mulla lives, Where no uproar and clamor from mulla is heard, May the world rid itself of terror of a mulla,May no one pay heed to his fatwas. In a city where a mulla dwells, No wise man is ever found..”
Dara Shukoh (1615–1659) said by 1659 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They are here among us. Let us be wise enough to learn from those who can teach us much — who will be our friends if we will but let them!”
George Adamski (1891–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So long as one's perceptions are restricted to sensuous experiences, one's knowledge will be proportionately small; to become truly wise, one must burst the bonds of illusion, tear away the curtain of MAYA, break the chains of passion, learn the self and put it in command of our consciousness and our actions.”
Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“117. Q. Can you tell me the remedy? A. To dispel Ignorance and become wise (Prājña).”
Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907) said by 1907 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was once upon a time a man whom other men called Aben Hassen the Wise. He had read a thousand books of magic, and knew all that the ancients or moderns had to tell of the hidden arts.”
Howard Pyle (1853–1911) said by 1911 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“England has not always been a land of liberty. Everyone has heard of the cruel and barbarous persecutions Protestants had to endure under the reigns of Henry VIII and of his daughter Mary. At the present time people have become more humane, and everyone may enjoy peace and tranquillity, maintained by just and wise laws.”
César-François de Saussure (1705–1783) first seen 1729 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter XIV, London, 29 April 1729, pp. 317–318
“...we benignly wish that all and each of the natives of the kingdom who will subject themselves willingly to us, as the true King of France according to wise counsel, before next Easter, offering due fidelity etc. to us, as King of France, performing their duties...should be admitted to our peace and grace and to our special protection and defence.”
Edward III of England (1312–1377) first seen 1327 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Assuming the title King of France (8 February 1340), quoted in A. R. Myers (ed.), English Historical Documents, 1327–1485 (Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1969), p. 65
“Do not teach principles that you do not practice. Resolve any contradiction between your direct experience and the words of the wise. Only then may you teach those principles.”
Govinda Bhagavatpada wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The point of meditation is not merely to be an honest or good person in the conventional sense, trying only to maintain our security. We must begin to become compassionate and wise in the fundamental sense, open and relating to the world as it is.”
Chögyam Trungpa (1939–1987) said by 1987 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thousands of jobs in the West Midlands depend on having a wise prime minister making sensible calls as to how we leave the EU promptly, but also in a way that does not harm business. I am that person.”
Jeremy Hunt (born 1966) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Tory leadership: Jeremy Hunt says contest is about trust BBC News (21 June 2019)
“God does not create pure evil. Rather, in everything that He creates is a wise purpose by virtue of what is good. However, there may be some evil in it for some people, and this is partial, relative evil. As for total evil or absolute evil, the Lord is exonerated of that.”
Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) said by 1328 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ibn Taymiyyah, A. (2004) Majmu’ al-Fatawa. Vol 14, p. 266.
“If God—exalted is He—is Creator of everything, He creates good and evil on account of the wise purpose that He has in that by virtue of which His action is good and perfect.”
Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) said by 1328 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ibn Taymiyyah, A. (1986) Minhaj al-Sunnah. Edited by Muhammad Rashad Salim. Riyadh: Jami’ah al-Imam Muhammad bin Saud al-Islamiyah. Vol 3, p: 142.
“Others are heedless,—do thou be wise, and on this path keep thy tongue silent. The condition laid on such a one is that he should receive all food and drink from the Causer, not from the causes. Go, suffer hardship, if thou wouldst be cherished; and if not, be content with the road to Hell. None ever attained his object without enduring hardship.”
Sanai (1080–1131) said by 1131 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Enclosed Garden Of Truth (Hadiqat al-Haqiqa wa Shari'at al-Tariqa): translated by John Stephenson, 1910
“Her eyes held that long-distance prairie look, a look knowing wind and fire and hard times, stuff that either breaks people or leaves them wise.”
Jack Cady (1932–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is considered a good thing to look wise, especially when not over burdened with information.”
J. Golden Kimball (1853–1938) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Conference Report, April 1906
“I have seen men who had studied the sciences, who knew the messages of the Prophets, the recommendations of the wise, and yet who surpassed the most evil men in their worse deeds, and their depravation. This is very frequent, and so I have understood that these two moral attitudes were favours granted or denied by the Most High.”
Ibn Hazm (994–1064) said by 1064 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the rest of cosmos were a conspiracy intriguing for the maintenance and entertainment of the sentient creatures it has brought into existence, it would seem to be an arrangement more creditable and more worthy of an all-wise and amicably disposed inventor. But it is not.”
J. Howard Moore (1862–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh this killing, killing, killing—this awful, never-stopping, never-ending, world-wide butchery! What a world! 'Ideal'?—and 'perfect'?—and 'all-wise'? Certainly—to tigers, and highwaymen, and people who are sound asleep; but to everybody else it is simply monstrous.”
J. Howard Moore (1862–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We do know that no one gets wise enough to really understand the heart of another, though it is the task of our life to try. (p6)”
Louise Erdrich (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He was a strong man in wise enough to realize that beyond power itself is the power of using it wisely.”
Jack Williamson (1908–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is a strange thing to me, that wise men should make such large discourses of the catholic Church, and bring so many testimonies to prove the universality of it, and not discern, that, while by this means they think they have gotten a great victory over us, they have in very truth overthrown themselves.”
James Ussher (1581–1656) said by 1656 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man refuses to be led beyond his own depth.”
Jami (1414–1492) said by 1492 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sometimes in our lives we all have pain We all have sorrow But if we are wise We know that there's always tomorrow.”
Bill Withers (1938–2020) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lean on Me", on Still Bill (1972) Live performance (1972) · Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance (2015)