Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Wisdom
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“Avoid the crowd, avoid mass audiences, keep your own counsel, which is the counsel of philosophy—of wisdom you can acquire and make your own.”
Zygmunt Bauman (1925–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[On Norman Wisdom] One knew that he would lay his hands on anybody [...] You had to make sure you nipped about a bit. There's a way of doing it without reprimanding. He obviously had a terrific inferiority complex.”
Fenella Fielding (1927–2018) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As cited in "Fenella Fielding interview: the Sixties vamp on stand-up, sexual harassment and turning 90 in style", The Telegraph (8 November 2017)
“Contemporary philosophy illustrates Hegel’s dictum that philosophy is its own time apprehended in thought, for in our age philosophy yields to the objectifying technical impulse and loses its ancient task of pursuing the Socratic ideal of the wisdom of the examined life.”
Donald Phillip Verene (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Theoretical knowledge is only a small and by no means the most important part of what passed for knowledge in a society… the primary knowledge about the institutional order is knowledge... is the sum total of ‘what everybody knows’ about a social world, an assemblage of maxims, morals, proverbial nuggets of wisdom, values and beliefs, myths, and so forth.”
Peter L. Berger (1929–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She knew what she was now. She had a purpose. Freedom was still hers, but it was a purposeful freedom. She would seek responsibility, for freedom without responsibility was worthless, and to that duality she would add power, for responsibility without power was impotence. She would go to Wisdom and enthrone the trinity of liberties within herself.”
Ian McDonald (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An aphorism can contain only as much wisdom as overstatement will permit.”
Clifton Fadiman (1904–1999) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Introduction to Unkempt Thoughts, St. Martin's Press (1962)
“This explains the instant satisfaction and growing reward which comes to every man who aspires to a higher life, who covets wisdom, who pursues beauty, who idealizes and worships his ideals.”
John William Lloyd (1857–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The movement of the Spirit of God in the hearts of men and women often calls them to act against the spirit of their times or causes them to anticipate a spirit which is yet in the making. In a moment of dedication they are given wisdom and courage to dare a deed that challenges and to kindle a hope that inspires.”
Howard Thurman (1899–1981) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Footprints of a Dream : The Story of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples (1959), p. 7
“52. The state of prayer can be aptly described as a habitual state of imperturbable calm. It snatches to the heights of intelligible reality the spirit which loves wisdom and which is truly spiritualized by the most intense love.”
Evagrius Ponticus (345–399) said by 399 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“85. Psalm-singing is an image of wisdom which is many-sided; prayer is the prelude to immaterial and uniform knowledge.”
Evagrius Ponticus (345–399) said by 399 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Living in a bittersweet state, with an intense awareness of life's fragility and the pain of separation, is an underappreciated strength and an unexpected path to wisdom, joy, and especially communion.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There's a reason that so many religions and wisdom traditions counsel meditating on death, and it's because there's almost nothing that delivers you so quickly to the preciousness of life than to think about death.”
Susan Cain (born 1968) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Meraji, Shereen Marisol (interviewer), "How to be OK with your sadness and know when to embrace it", NPR, August 15, 2022.
“The acceptance of indeterminacy is the beginning of wisdom,” the hermit quoted.”
Robert Sheckley (1928–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Theology is an ungainly discipline. Unlike many other pursuits of wisdom, even its most fundamental principles are disputed by those who practice it.”
Roger Haight (1936–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are always lessons to be found in the darkest moments. It's a moral obligation to dig deep and find that little glimmer of hope or pearl of wisdom. You might hit upon an elegant phrase that stays with you and makes the journey that little less bitter. I've tried with Istanbul and haven't managed to get beyond these words: for fuck's sake.”
Andrea Pirlo (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He dyed his hair with great art, maintaining enough gray to suggest wisdom, but not so much as to suggest age.”
Michael F. Flynn (1947–2023) said by 2023 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is the fruit of communion; ignorance the inevitable portion of those who "keep themselves to themselves," and stand apart, judging, analysing the things which they have truly never known.”
Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That the teachings of neither our modern teachers nor preachers are "wisdom from above" is fully demonstrated. It is proved not by any personal incorrectness in their statements or mistakes in life, for "to err is but human," but by incontrovertible facts.”
Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom and Truth are synonymous terms, and that which is false or well-known representative of the Church of England, that the Sermon of the Mount would, in its practical application, mean utter ruin for his country less than three weeks;”
Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Valuing freedom of thought above all things as the only way of reaching at some future time that Wisdom, of which every Theosophist ought to be enamored, we recognize the right to the same freedom in our foes as in our friends.”
Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Thus, what with several generations of most active Church Fathers ever working at the destruction of old documents and the preparation of new passages to be interpolated in those which happened to survive, there remains of the Gnostics -- the legitimate offspring of the Archaic Wisdom-religion -- but a few unrecognizable shreds.”
Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jesus assumes the wisdom, power, love, and accessibility of God. Without attempting to prove these attributes, he simply acts as if their truth were beyond dispute.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Learning should be a pleasure, and children should grow up to imagine wisdom with a smiling face, not a fierce and terrifying one.”
Sarah Bakewell (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I contemplate the whole phenomena as having been in the first place arranged in the counsels of Divine Wisdom, to take place, not only upon this sphere, but upon all the others in space, under necessary modifications, and as being carried on, from first to last, here and elsewhere, under immediate favor of the creative will or energy.”
Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because he had seen much of life, his last and greatest work, The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, is more than a collection of facts: it is a book of wisdom and experience, a treatise on the conduct of life, a commentary on human destiny.”
Walter Raleigh (professor) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Serfs and slaves were always given at least enough to keep them physically well. But present-day society has ignored the wisdom of this fair provision.”
Robert Hunter (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All social movements would gain immensely in enthusiasm, persuasiveness, and wisdom if the hearts of their advocates were cleansed and warmed by religious faith.”
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world is the book where the eternal Wisdom wrote its own concepts”
Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639) said by 1639 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No man has all the wisdom in the world; everyone has some.”
E. W. Howe (1853–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“On the whole, a man who denies the existence of the effects arranged according to the causes in the question of arts, or whose wisdom cannot understand it, then he has no knowledge of the art of its Maker.”
Averroes (1126–1198) said by 1198 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Age does not bring you wisdom, age brings you wrinkles.”
Estelle Getty (1923–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People assume that I'm wiser than I am because I'm somewhat successful. Age does not bring you wisdom, age brings you wrinkles. If you're dumb when you're young, you're going to be dumb when you're old.”
Estelle Getty (1923–2008) said by 2008 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I need the Lord's guidance on what to do... I asked God for wisdom.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“God would grant all of us wisdom, calm, and peace, that his presence would be in the operating room, and that his will might be done.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Bible is a seemingly inexhaustible source of practical wisdom that could serve as a valuable resource for everyday living.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My experience has confirmed the wisdom of so much of what the Bible teaches.”
Ben Carson (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Outlaw consciousness is born the moment I drop out, stop the world, cease being an actor identified with the mythic roles I have been playing in society. Change begins when I do nothing except observe. The wisdom of the railroad crossing: Stop. Look. Listen. Meditation is the healthy form of voyeurism.”
Sam Keen (1931–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Master said, “The ancestors scatter their wisdom like a sower his seeds, and those who would feast must first sweat beneath the sun.”
Malcolm Azania (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness — don’t waste the opportunity!”
Andrew Mason (born 1980) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Groupon CEO: “I Was Fired Today.” (February 28, 2013)
“The true function of the priesthood, then, is above all one of knowledge and teaching, and this is why, as we said above, its proper attribute is wisdom.”
René Guénon (1886–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today's banalities apparently gain in profundity if one states that the wisdom of the past, for all its virtues, belongs to the past. The arrogance of those who come later preens itself with the notion that the past is dead and gone. … The modern mind can no longer think thought, only can locate it in time and space. The activity of thinking decays to the passivity of classifying.”
Russell Jacoby (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom, virtue, morality, all these have fallen out of fashion: everybody worships at the shrine of commerce.”
Charles Fourier (1772–1837) first seen 1808 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Theory of the Four Movements (1808), G. Jones, ed. (1966), p. 269
“We define a fruitful partnership between our twin professions of librarian and information systems scientist in support of this adventure in creativity, and the pursuit of wisdom? If it is the nature of the creative mind that it sets out to grapple with the tensions and contradictions in the "paradigm", as Kuhn calls it, it follows that first of all one must know what the paradigm is.”
Douglas John Foskett (1918–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today, the global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers. It used to be [that] it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier.”
Ted Cruz (born 1970) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with the Texas Tribune, Washington Post (March 24, 2015)
“Indeed, it was for this that intelligent beings came into existence; namely, that the riches of the Divine blessings should not lie idle. The All-creating Wisdom fashioned these souls, these receptacles with free wills, as vessels as it were, for this very purpose, that there should be some capacities able to receive His blessings and become continually larger with the inpouring of the stream.”
Gregory of Nyssa (born 335) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That nothing happens without God we know from many sources; and, reversely, that God’s dispensations have no element of chance and confusion in them every one will allow, who realizes that God is Reason, and Wisdom, and Perfect Goodness, and Truth, and could not admit of that which is not good and not consistent with His Truth.”
Gregory of Nyssa (born 335) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For earth cannot understand heavenly wisdom. Words enough and Dutch enough can be found for all things on earth, but I do not know any Dutch or any words that answer my purpose. Although I can express everything insofar as this is possible for a human being, no Dutch can be found for all I have said to you, since none exists to express these things, so far as I know”
Hadewijch (1200–1260) said by 1260 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the First Presidency of the Church set me apart, I asked President Grant if he had any official word for me, any instruction. He said: "Yes, Oscar. Express yourself freely in council. Say what you have to say, freely, but when a decision is made, line up." I will tell you that those are words of wisdom. In my opinion that is democracy in its very essence.”
Heber J. Grant (1856–1945) first seen 1942 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oscar A. Kirkham in 112th Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints April 1942
“The fictitious deities of all races in all worlds once more crowded themselves upon me, symbols of majesty and tenderness, of ruthless power, of blind creativity, and of all-seeing wisdom. And though these images were but the fantasies of created minds, it seemed to me that one and all did indeed embody some true feature of the Star Maker’s impact upon the creatures.”
Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I see, indeed I know, that in some sense God is love, and God is wisdom, and God is creative action, yes and God is beauty; but what God actually is, whether the maker of all things, or the fragrance of all things, or just a dream in our own hearts, I have not the art to know. Neither have you, I believe; nor any man, nor any spirit of our humble stature.”
Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source