Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,745 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Wisdom
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“The Bolsheviks themselves will not want, with hand on heart, to deny that, step by step, they have to feel out the ground, try out, experiment, test now one way now another, and that a good many of their measures do not represent priceless pearls of wisdom. Thus it must and will be with all of us when we get to the same point–even if the same difficult circumstances may not prevail everywhere.”
Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) said by 1919 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can never know everything, and part of what you know is always wrong. Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that. A portion of courage lies in going on anyway.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”
E. O. Wilson (1929–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don't gain the world and lose your soul Wisdom is better than silver and gold.”
Bob Marley (1945–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Economists often like startling theorems, results which seem to run counter to conventional wisdom.”
Joseph Stiglitz (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom, Power and Goodness meet In the bounteous field of wheat.”
Hannah Flagg Gould (1788–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction... The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.”
Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.”
Marilyn vos Savant (born 1946) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Courage: the heart and spirit of every woman : reclaiming the forgotten virtue (2001) by Sandra Ford Walston
“He was gifted with the sly, sharp instinct for self-preservation that passes for wisdom among the rich.”
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To know and love one other human being is the root of all wisdom.”
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why then do you occupy me with the words rather than with the works of wisdom? Make me braver, make me calmer, make me the equal of Fortune, make me her superior.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To no creature besides man has been given wisdom, foresight, industry, and reflection.”
Seneca the Younger (5 BC–65) said by 65 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within.”
Fritjof Capra (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best Ends by the best Means.”
Francis Hutcheson (philosopher) first seen 1725 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725), Treatise I, Sect. V
“Late, I learned that when reason died, then Wisdom was born; before that liberation, I had only knowledge.”
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What men call knowledge, is the reasoned acceptance of false appearances. Wisdom looks behind the veil and sees.”
Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In youth men are apt to write more wisely than they really know or feel; and the remainder of life may be not idly spent in realizing and convincing themselves of the wisdom which they uttered long ago.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) first seen 1852 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Snow-Image, and Other Tales, Preface (1852)
“Boldness, and still boldness, was the only wisdom. To be cautious was to be rash.”
John Buchan (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is a madness that is better than wisdom.”
John Buchan (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O Mother of Good Counsel, lend Intelligence to me! Encompass me with wisdom, Thou Tower of Ivory! "This is the Man of Lies," she says, "Disguised with fearful art: He has the wounded hands and feet, But not the wounded heart.”
Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It seems to me that age, growing old, is a war between wisdom and bitterness. I’m not sure how I’ll come out of that war myself, assuming I get so far. Maybe some things are more important than life itself. But what?”
Stephen Baxter (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“. . . who ever sees Wisdom until she is flying away?”
H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“. . . the dead keep their wisdom to themselves”
H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom consists in rising superior both to madness and to common sense, and in lending one’s self to the universal delusion without becoming its dupe.”
Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881) first seen 1872 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 11 December 1872
“We are, as a sex, infinitely superior to men, and if we were free and developed, healthy in body and mind, as we should be under natural conditions, our motherhood would be our glory. That function gives women such wisdom and power as no male can possess.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) first seen 1890 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary of December 27, 1890. Published in Elizabeth Cady Stanton as revealed in her letters, diary and reminiscences By Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriot Stanton Blatch. Harper & Brothers, 1922. p 270. GoogleBooks URL acce…
“Memory, prophecy and fantasy the past, the future and the dreaming moment between are all one country, living one immortal day. To know that is Wisdom. To use it is the Art.”
Clive Barker (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Life and wisdom. What more could anybody ask?”
Clive Barker (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was such sanity in his voice; a politician’s sanity, as he sold his flock the wisdom of the bomb. This soulless certainty was more chilling than hysteria or malice.”
Clive Barker (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As when on some secluded branch in forest far and wide sits perched an owl, who, full of self-conceit and self-created wisdom, explains, comments, condemns, ordains and order things not understood, yet full of importance still holds forth to stocks and stones around — so sits and scribbles Mike.”
Michael Faraday (1791–1867) said by 1867 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Of himself and his writing abilities, as quoted in A Random Walk in Science (1973) by Robert L. Weber, p. 76
“Being cheerful and affable with people is by itself half of wisdom.”
Ja'far al-Sadiq (699–765) said by 765 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Precision, accuracy and pondering in wisdom and sciences, will nourish and develop a person's brain.”
Ja'far al-Sadiq (699–765) said by 765 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Opposition of one's desires is the sign of the highest level of wisdom in a human being.”
Muhammad al-Baqir (677–733) said by 733 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On the Day of Judgement, God will interrogate people according to the wisdom he has granted them.”
Muhammad al-Baqir (677–733) said by 733 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[I admire] your wisdom and strength. [...] We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat [U.S.] imperialism, but if we are divided they will push us aside.”
Hugo Chávez (1954–2013) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Said to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, during a meeting to the country on July 29, 2006.
“There shall always be much silence in a man's conduct. He shall speak only about a matter concerned with wisdom or matters that are necessary to keep his body alive.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Silence is a fence around wisdom.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All the great evils which men cause to each other because of certain intentions, desires, opinions, or religious principles, are likewise due to non-existence, because they originate in ignorance, which is absence of wisdom.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If men possessed wisdom, which stands in the same relation to the form of man as the sight to the eye, they would not cause any injury to themselves or to others, for the knowledge of the truth removes hatred and quarrels, and prevents mutual injuries.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In accordance with the divine wisdom, genesis can only take place through destruction, and without destruction of the individual members of the species the species themselves would not exist permanently. Thus the true kindness, and beneficence, and goodness of God is clear.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This must be our belief when we have a correct knowledge of our own self, and comprehend the true nature of everything; we must be content, and not trouble our mind with seeking a certain final cause for things that have none, or have no other final cause but their own existence, which depends on the Will of God, or, if you prefer, on the Divine Wisdom.”
Maimonides (1135–1204) said by 1204 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To act with common sense, according to the moment, is the best wisdom I know; and the best philosophy, to do one's duties, take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one's lot, bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it, whatever it is, and despise affectation.”
Horace Walpole (1717–1797) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Sir Horace Mann (27 May 1776)
“He who knows what is of God and who knows what is of Man has reached indeed the height (of wisdom).”
Zhuangzi (369–288 BC) said by 288 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 6 (tr. Lin Yutang, 1942)
“Away then with wisdom and knowledge, and great robbers will disappear!”
Zhuangzi (369–288 BC) said by 288 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 10 (tr. Herbert A. Giles, 1889)
“Great things are not accomplished with physical strength and agility," says Cicero, "but through consultation, authority, and the mature wisdom which old age, far from lacking, is endowed with abundantly.”
André Maurois (1885–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(...) When we are absorbed in other things, in the not-self, we forget the self. There is nothing unnatural about it. But, why forget the self through excess of attachment? Wisdom lies in never forgetting the self as the ever-present source of both the experiencer and his experience.”
Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897–1981) said by 1981 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To know oneself means, among other things, to know oneself qua non-sage: that is, not as a sophos, but as a philo-sophos, someone on the way toward wisdom.”
Pierre Hadot (1922–2010) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: trans. Michael Chase (1995), p. 90
“Pagan philosophers set up reason as the sole guide of life, of wisdom and conduct; but Christian philosophy demands of us that we surrender our reason to the Holy Spirit; and this means that we no longer live for ourselves, but that Christ lives and reigns within us (Rom 12:1; Eph 4:23; Gal 2:20).”
John Calvin (1509–1564) said by 1564 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For astronomy is not only pleasant, but also very useful to be known: it cannot be denied that this art unfolds the admirable wisdom of God.”
John Calvin (1509–1564) said by 1564 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then let every one of us, being warned by this sentence of the angel, acknowledge that he as yet cleaves to first principles, or, at least, does not comprehend all those things which are necessary to be known; and that therefore progress is to be made to the very end of life: for this is our wisdom, to be learners to the end.”
John Calvin (1509–1564) said by 1564 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Then I rose, wiping the blunts ash from my clothes then froze only to blow the herb smoke through my nose and told my little man that i'm a go cyprose there's some jewels in the skull that he can sell if he chose words of wisdom from nas try to rise up above”