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. 1,159,190 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

“Cherish wisdom as a means of travelling from youth to old age, for it is more lasting than any other possession.”
Bias of Priene (600–530 BC) said by 530 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Great strength of body is the gift of nature; But to be able to advise whate'er Is most expedient for one's country's good, Is the peculiar work of sense and wisdom.”
Bias of Priene (600–530 BC) said by 530 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Though, in debating with regard to theories, it be lawful to say whether this or that is consistent with the Divine attributes, yet, when we find that God has actually done any thing, all question about its justice, wisdom, and benevolence, is forever out of place.”
Nehemiah Adams (1806–1878) said by 1878 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Justice is peculiarly indispensable to nations. The unjust State is doomed of God to calamity and ruin. This is the teaching of the Eternal Wisdom and of history.”
Albert Pike (1809–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Knowledge is simply a terrible ocean we must cross, and hope that wisdom lies on the other side.”
Paolo Bacigalupi (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Proper evaluations of words and letters in their phonetic and associated sense can bring the people of earth to the clear light of pure cosmic wisdom.”
Sun Ra (1914–1993) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Liner notes for Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy (1966)
“Sometimes in the ignorance I feel the meaning Invincible invisible wisdom, And I commune with intuitive instinct With the force that made life be And since it made life be It is greater than life And since it let extinction be It is greater than extinction. I commune with feelings more than prayer”
Sun Ra (1914–1993) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Differences" (1970), p. 132
“Music is a plane of wisdom, because music is a universal language, it is a language of honor, it is a noble precept, a gift of the Airy Kingdom, music is air, a universal existence … common to all the living. Music is existence, the key to the universal language. Because it is the universal language.”
Sun Ra (1914–1993) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Neglected Plane of Wisdom" (1966), p. 250
“He wants to dream like a young man With the wisdom of an old man. He wants his home and security, He wants to live like a sailor at sea. Beautiful loser, where you gonna fall? You realize you just can't have it all.”
Bob Seger (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Sin Washer had died centuries ago, and His legacy seemed often to be in the accumulation of connections and power more than the distribution of emotional or spiritual ease. She kept that thought to herself. Wisdom came in many forms, and silence was often the most useful.”
Laura Anne Gilman (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The knowledge that unites love and wisdom, that uplifts the spirit is spirituality. The knowledge which gives you a broad vision and a big heart is spirituality.”
Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bang on the Door (2001)
“I think people are great in many different ways. So, I think some justices are great because they have extraordinary wisdom, they have an understanding of how to apply the law in their times … in a way that's completely consistent with … the text of the law and the purposes of the law, and in a way that's completely right for the times in which they live in.”
Elena Kagan (born 1960) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview on C-SPAN (9 December 2010).
“Chance and change are busy ever; Man decays, and ages move; But His mercy waneth never; God is wisdom, God is love.”
John Bowring (1792–1872) said by 1872 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 272.
“In the study of such events we do well to remember that the hand once nailed to the tree holds the chain that binds the past, the present, and the future. His way is in the sea, His path is in the great waters, and His footsteps are not known. But wisdom marks His plans; truth and justice attend their development, and out of seeming evil He brings triumphant good.”
John Lanahan (1815–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Oh, when His wisdom can mistake, His might decay, His love forsake, Then may His children cease to sing, — "The Lord omnipotent is King!”
Josiah Conder (1789–1855) said by 1855 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 274.
“The small red eyes regarded him, unblinking. “What would you give me for all the wisdom of the world?” “Nothing.” He turned back to his work. “I have heard you know the answers to every riddle save one. That will be the one I need answering.”
Patricia A. McKillip (1948–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom never learned silence, and it is most annoying when least wanted.”
Patricia A. McKillip (1948–2022) said by 2022 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world's oldest wisdom: each evil thought infuses the mind, sooner or later, with an unholy fear.”
Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If thou hast sought happiness and missed it, but hast found wisdom instead, thou art fortunate.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Folly will run its course and it is the part of wisdom not to take it too seriously.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As children must have the hooping cough, the college youth must pass through the stage of conceit in which he holds in slight esteem the wisdom of the best.”
John Lancaster Spalding (1840–1916) said by 1916 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When one's function is to teach the loftiest wisdom, it is difficult to resist the temptation to believe that until you have spoken, nothing has been said.”
Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If by sticking to the moral principles you have followed all your life, you jeopardize your happiness and that of others, throw over your principles. Principles for principles' sake -that is not wisdom; that is obstinacy. Principles should be fluid because life is fluid.”
Epifanio de los Santos (1871–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in “Don Pañong – Genius" by A.V.H. Hartendorp in Philippine Magazine (September 1929), p. 211.
“the distance between this pigeon's brain and mine is minute compared to that between mine and Bodhi's Wisdom Compassion”
Frederick Franck (1909–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women who lust for wisdom become astonished/astonishing, Wondering. As Muses of our own creation, Wonderlusters re-member our Original Powers. Unlike the frozen 'philosophy' that is packaged and stored within academic refrigerators, Wonderlust moves us always. Our vehicles are often Metaphors. Our destinations are Realms of Metabeing. p. 26”
Mary Daly (1928–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hail hero, hail hero, child of your fate Come into the kitchen don't stand by the gate And show us your wisdom before it's too late”
Gordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Theme song of Hail Hero! (1969), co-written with Jerome Moross
“Women … do not have to forsake the "wisdom of the heart" and become men. They need only transfer the primary force of their supportiveness to themselves and to each other—but never to the point of self-sacrifice.”
Phyllis Chesler (born 1940) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Women and Madness (2005), p. 348, and see Women and Madness (1972), p. 301 (similar text).
“Perhaps only some young women, perhaps only a minority of all women, will be able to effect such changes through consciousness alone, through the strength of understanding, which, if transformed into wisdom, always means the performance of necessary actions.”
Phyllis Chesler (born 1940) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Women and Madness (2005), p. 349, and see Women and Madness (1972), p. 302 (similar text).
“Curiosity is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Françoise Sagan (1935–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gangsta rap-based filmings became the buildin blocks For children with leakin ceilings catchin drippins with pots Coupled with compositions from Pac, Nas's "It Was Written" In the mix with my realities and feelings Living conditions, religion, ignorant wisdom and artistic vision I began to jot, tap the world and listen,”
Lupe Fiasco (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is for the people of Asia to run the affairs of Asia, solve the problems of Asia and uphold the security of Asia. The people of Asia have the capability and wisdom to achieve peace and stability in the region through enhanced cooperation.”
Xi Jinping (born 1953) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: New Asian Security Concept For New Progress in Security Cooperation，Shanghai Expo Center, 21 May 2014
“All resistance bears within it the seeds of growth, experience, and wisdom.”
Steve Maraboli (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No person's gain in wisdom is diminished by anyone else's gain.”
Charles A. Reich (1928–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As a painter, cursed or blessed with a terrible and vital sensuousness, I must look for wisdom with my eyes. I repeat, with my eyes, for nothing could be more ridiculous or irrelevant than a 'philosophical conception' painted purely intellectually without the terrible fury of the senses grasping each visible form of beauty and ugliness.”
Max Beckmann (1884–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He is extremely intelligent and has a great sense of responsibility. I've seen, in the past few years, he has managed several crises with extreme dignity and wisdom.”
John Elkann (born 1976) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Henry Kissinger, "Interview: All In The Family", Time Magazine, 06-25-2006
“The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful, and then only for a short while.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From the same 24 March 1954 letter as above, p. 44
“This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Both in thought and in feeling, even though time be real, to realise the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To drift with every passion till my soul Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play, Is it for this that I have given away Mine ancient wisdom, and austere control? Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll Scrawled over on some boyish holiday With idle songs for pipe and virelay, Which do but mar the secret of the whole.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Intolerance is natural and logical, for in every dissenting opinion lies an assumption of superior wisdom.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Age, with his eyes in the back of his head, thinks it wisdom to see the bogs through which he has floundered.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is known only by contrasting it with folly; by shadow only we perceive that all visible objects are not flat. Yet Philanthropos would abolish evil!”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Joan was a being so uplifted from the ordinary run of mankind that she finds no equal in a thousand years. She embodied the natural goodness and valour of the human race in unexampled perfection. Unconquerable courage, infinite compassion, the virtue of the simple, the wisdom of the just, shone forth in her. She glorifies as she freed the soil from which she sprang.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is only by prudence, wisdom, and dexterity, that great ends are attained and obstacles overcome. Without these qualities nothing succeeds.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great secret of power is never to will to do more than you can accomplish. The great secret of action and victory is to be capable of living your life without ideals. Such is the sum of the whole world's wisdom.”
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) said by 1906 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Ibsen Calendar : A Quotation from the Works of Henrik Ibsen for Every Day (1913) by C. A. Arfwedson
“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
Woody Allen (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source