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
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatinaNederlands
Wisdom
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“You see, you should learn to say what you mean. Words, little man, are a gift from the Almighty, the Eternal Wisdom. He gave us all a little pinch of his mind and called on us to think. That is why it is folly to misuse words or not to know how to use them well.”
Njabulo Ndebele (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am losing confidence in the great powers. They are climbing from the pedestal of greatness to the pedestal of insanity. We expect leadership from them; they give us destruction. We expect wisdom from them; they give us lack of knowledge. We expect objectivity from them; they present us with blurred vision.”
Jaja Wachuku (1918–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I thank God we have this opportunity to appreciate Salame and say thank you and may God continue to give you the wisdom to forge better partnerships with the Executive and the Legislature.”
Abdullahi Balarabe Salame (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It will be recalled that the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Coram Abubakar Kutigi, J, had on Thursday, 28th March 2024, similarly upheld the no-case submission I made to the charges filed against me. The EFCC had, in their wisdom and in the exercise of their prosecutorial powers, filed charges on the same facts in different courts to annoy and cause me maximum discomfort and expense.”
Mohammed Bello Adoke (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We pray that Almighty Allah continues to grant you wisdom, strength, and good health in your noble task of moving Kano State to greater heights,”
Yusuf Ahmad Badau (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We ask the authors and promoters of the bill to have the wisdom to read the signs of the times and the nobleness of soul to put their own interests at the service of the nation. Another important value is respect for the law and Constitution, expressions of our social contract. This contract is applied in order to live in harmony with justice and democracy.”
Pierre Laurent Jubinville (born 1960) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To run for re-election is inopportune and a threat to peace”, says Bishop Jubinville (12 April 2017) Fides News Agency
“The water placed in goblet, bowl or cup Changes its form to its receptacle; And so our plastic souls take various shapes And characters of good or ill, to fit The good or evil in the friends we choose. Therefore be ever careful in your choice of friends, And let your special love be given to those Whose strength of character may prove the whip, That drives you ever to fair Wisdom’s goal.”
Emperor Meiji (1852–1912) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Poem written for the students at the Peeresses' School of Tokyo. Translated by Arthur Lloyd as "Wisdom's Goal" for the NYC Independent, vol. 57, no. 2,913 (Sep. 29, 1904), p. 705
“The urgent task is this: How do we create a system that will flow out of our inherited wisdom or indigenous systems?”
Nimi Wariboko (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I love getting to be part of an institution that takes me on journeys of discovery with my students. I get to impart wisdom and remain abreast of the craft”
Abduragman Adams wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“home is where the library of wisdom is.”
Neo Matloga (born 1993) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: from Tongues (2022)
“There is something about teaching that makes you a better researcher. I know this is very countercultural wisdom, but I believed it all along. , , and all believed it. Levinthal and Luria both had a very strong influence on me in this regard.”
David Botstein (1942–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Kavandish, the Army muckity-muck, had a face that showed every emotion from A all the way to A-. It was a mask of meat shaped in an infantry square such as those at Waterloo and built bluntly around two ball bearings, empty of light, wisdom, empathy, or kindness, only registering force.”
Stephen Hunter (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is the book that will give you wisdom.”
Peter Shalulile (born 1993) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He gave me the foundation and Martin gave me the wisdom to present myself in Mexico City where we could make a resounding statement that would reach the far ends of the earth - a non-violent statement but a pungent statement at the same time.”
John Carlos (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Be patient with yourself. Give yourself grace. Whatever is meant for you will never miss you—so don’t get caught up in what didn’t work out; see it as a blessing in disguise. Don’t view your mistakes as failures, but rather as lessons and newfound wisdom on how to be better moving forward.”
Lori Harvey (born 1997) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even in evil, that dark cloud which hangs over the creation, we discern rays of light and hope, and gradually come to see in suffering and temptation proofs and instruments of the sublimest purposes of wisdom and love.”
William Ellery Channing (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I compare the clamorous preaching and passionate declamation too common in the Christian world with the composed dignity, the deliberate wisdom, the freedom from all extravagance, which characterized Jesus, I can imagine no greater contrast; and I am sure that the fiery zealot is no representative of Christianity.”
William Ellery Channing (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Pleasure has its time; so, too, has wisdom. Make love in thy youth, and in old age, attend to thy salvation.”
Voltaire (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.”
Adlai Stevenson II (misattributed) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: John Stuart Mill, as quoted by Stevenson in Call to Greatness (1954), p. 102; this has also been misquoted as "That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in another.
“Doubt is the origin of wisdom and Latin: Dubium sapientiae initium. This has been attributed to Descartes, including here previously, but no original attribution has been found. Descartes Meditationes de prima philosophia has been cited as the source of Dubium sapientiae initium, but this quote is not found in this work.”
René Descartes (misattributed) first seen 1880 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Latin version may be found in a footnote of the 1880 edition of "Publilii Syri mimi Sententiae".
“The end of wisdom is consultation and deliberation.”
Demosthenes (misattributed) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: For of all virtue, I say, and I repeat it, the beginning is understanding and the fulfilment is courage. (tr. N. W. DeWitt, N. J. DeWitt, 1949)
“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.”
Socrates (misattributed) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sometimes presented as a direct quote, this was actually Manuel J. Smith's own general description of Socrates' teachings in his 1974 book When I Say No, I Feel Guilty, on p. 65 of the 1975 edition.
“David said ‘O Lord, since Thou hast no need of us, Say then, what wisdom was there in creating the two worlds?’ God said to him ‘O temporal man, I was a hidden treasure; I sought that that treasure of loving kindness and bounty should be revealed.’”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The body loves green pastures and running water, For this cause that its origin is from them. The love of the soul is for wisdom and knowledge, That of the body for houses, gardens, and vineyards; The love of the soul is for things exalted on high, That of the body for acquisition of goods and food.”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What rays of wisdom poured on water and on land Ere earth could nourish seed, yield corn to our demand! The earth, a faithful trustee, gives back what we sow, No fraud, embezzlement, in its trust do we know.”
Rumi (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Pacific Way … is not a thing or state; it is the working out of a process. (But) … the most important things in life are the most difficult to measure … love, peace of mind, creativity, fulfillment, maturity or wisdom, for example.”
Kamisese Mara (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One's obedience to God is proportionate to one's wisdom.”
Ali (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To fight against one's own desires is highest wisdom.”
Ali (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To separate oneself from things of time and to connect oneself with things of eternity is highest wisdom.”
Ali (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord, grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to deal with the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Francis of Assisi (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most manifest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness; her state is like that in the regions above the moon, always clear and serene.”
Michel de Montaigne (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.”
Augustine of Hippo (disputed) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Anchor Book of Latin Quotations: with English translations (1990) by Norbert Guterman, p. 375
“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers”
Calvin Coolidge (misattributed) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Widely misattributed and misquoted. Coolidge was quoting Tennyson in a June 3, 1925 speech to the US Naval Academy. Foundations of the Republic pp 237 : THE NAVY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF PEACE The poet reminds us that "Knowl…
Also quoted by: Alfred Tennyson
“It is a proverbial expression that every man is the maker of his own fortune, and we usually regard it as implying that every man, by his folly or wisdom, prepares good or evil for himself. But we may view it in another light — namely, that we may so accommodate ourselves to the dispensations of Providence as to be happy in our lot, whatever may be its privations.”
Wilhelm von Humboldt (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Providence certainly does not attend merely to the interests of individuals, but the profound wisdom of its counsels extends to the right ordering and betterment of all.”
Wilhelm von Humboldt (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To those possessed of breeding, learning, handsome looks, Who have no wisdom, neither discipline, you need not bow. But those who do have these two qualities, Though lacking other virtues, you should revere.”
Nagarjuna (attributed) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to a Friend (Snow Lion: 2013), stanza 28
“Cervantes speaks of potted wisdom of "short sentences drawn long experience.”
Charles Buxton (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Proverbs are potted wisdom.”
Charles Buxton (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The proverbial wisdom of the populace at gates, on roads, and in markets instructs the attentive ear of him who studies man more fully than a thousand rules ostentatiously arranged.”
Johann Kaspar Lavater (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truth, wisdom, love, seek reasons; malice only seeks causes.”
Johann Kaspar Lavater (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is the repose of the mind.”
Johann Kaspar Lavater (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In S. Londhe, A Tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and Wisdom Spanning Continents and Time about India and Her Culture (New Delhi: Pragun, 2008): citing Pranebendranath Johann Gottfried Ghosh, Herder's Image of India (1900), p. 334, and Damodar P. Singhal, India and World Civilization (Calcutta: Rupa and Co., 1993), p. 231”
Johann Gottfried Herder (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Being a philosopher is to think, seek wisdom and have principles that guide and influence what you do. It's to give meaning to things, find your way in the world, believe that in the end, in every instance, good will overcome evil even if there's a bit of suffering along the way.”
Andrea Pirlo (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It doesn’t mean I’m purer and nicer than others. But it means I have too much ignorance and mental defilement to remove. I need Buddha's wisdom.”
Richard Gombrich (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It doesn’t mean I have more wisdom than others. But it means I have been occupied by too much arrogance. I need to learn to be humble and to develop a broader perspective.”
Richard Gombrich (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I know I only love those to my taste, but Buddha loves even people he does not like, guiding them to be full of wisdom and compassion. That’s why I choose to follow Buddha’s teachings！”
Richard Gombrich (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do not mean to manipulate others with the motivation of self-interest. But with good use of wisdom, to benefit self and others while being empathetic to all sentient beings.”
Richard Gombrich (misattributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is easy for men to write and talk like philosophers, but to act with wisdom, there is the rub!”
Antoine de Rivarol (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As whole caravans may light their lamps from one candle without exhausting it, so myriads of tribes may gain wisdom from the great Book without impoverishing it.”
Simeon ben Azzai (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Genuine wit implies no small amount of wisdom and culture.”
Moses Harvey (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source