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Wisdom
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“There can be little doubt that it is the fools, and not the wise, who govern the world. While the wise are considering, the fools act; while the wise investigate, the fools have made up their minds; by the time the wise have discovered, the fools have made arrangements, and the wise, for the sake of law and order, or, if not, for the sake of peace and quietness, are obliged to give way.”
Jean Ingelow (1820–1897) said by 1897 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cato used to assert that wise men profited more by fools than fools by wise men; for that wise men avoided the faults of fools, but that fools would not imitate the good examples of wise men.”
Plutarch (40–120) said by 120 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“Ordinary fools are all right; you can talk to them, and try to help them out. But pompous fools—guys who are fools and are covering it all over and impressing people as to how wonderful they are with all this hocus pocus—THAT, I CANNOT STAND! An ordinary fool isn’t a faker; an honest fool is all right. But a dishonest fool is terrible!”
Richard Feynman (1918–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is, I suppose, the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”
Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) first seen 1871 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Fourfold Treasure" (April 27, 1871), Sermon 991
“There are three kinds of fools in this world, fools proper, educated fools and rich fools. The world persists because of the folly of these fools.”
Swami Narayanananda (1902–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was born wise. Street-wise, people-wise, self-wise. This wisdom was my birthright. I was also born old. And illegitimate. But the two big advantages I had at birth were to have been born wise and to have been born in poverty.”
Sophia Loren (born 1934) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by A. E. Hotchner in Sophia, Living and Loving: Her Own Story (1979), p. 9
“A Fool and Knave, with different views, For Julia’s hand apply: The Knave, to mend his fortune sues: The Fool, to please his eye.Ask you, how JULIA will behave? Depend on’t for a rule, If she’s a Fool, she’ll wed the Knave— If she’s a Knave, the Fool.”
Samuel Bishop (1731–1795) said by 1795 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can fool me once, you can even fool me twice, you can even fool me thrice. But you can never fool me four.”
Melanie Marquez (born 1964) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ABS-CBN News. 10 March 2014.
“Fools will be fools, And wise will be wise. But I will look this world Straight in the eyes.What good is a man Who won't take a stand? What good is a cynic With no better plan?”
Ben Harper (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise.”
Cato the Elder (234–149 BC) said by 149 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love works miracles every day: such as weakening the strong, and strengthening the weak; making fools of the wise, and wise men of fools; favoring the passions, destroying reason, and, in a word, turning everything topsy-turvy.”
Marguerite de Navarre (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“. . . there are always plenty of fools in the world and the fool who comes after is just as big as the fool who went before. Death spills the water of wisdom upon the sand . . . and sand is thirsty stuff that soon grows dry again. If it were not so . . . men would soon stop falling in love with women, and yet even great ones . . . fall in love.”
H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wisdom is not mathematical, nor astronomical, nor zoological; when it talks too much of any one thing it ceases to be itself. There are wise physicists, but wisdom is not physical; there are wise physicians, but wisdom is not medical.”
George Sarton (1884–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.'”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Anatole France (misattributed)
“A wise man can play the fool, but the fool can never play wise.”
Burna Boy (born 1991) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Boy quote on Twitter ", 21 October 2023
“The Gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.”
Larry Niven (born 1938) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“These are fools that men adore; both their Gods & their men are fools. This verse establishes uncompromisingly that all Gods — G capital, that is to say, 'true Gods' — and all men deified by legend or deceit — that is to say, false gods' — are fools. How come? It is a key. Distinction is clearly made between the two types: one are Gods; the other is men.”
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man dies no better or more wisely than the fool. In what way, then, is the wise man wise?”
Joseph Heller (1923–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man never heard a joke But living wisdom from it broke; The fool no wisdom ever learned But it in him to folly turned.”
Saadi (1210–1292) said by 1292 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They passed churches. People were packed inside them. They overflowed out onto the steps. “Poor fools,” Richard muttered, his hands still shaking. Norman took a deep breath. “I wish I was a poor fool,” he said. “A poor fool who could believe in something.” “Maybe,” Richard said. Then he added, “I’d rather spend the last day believing what I think is true.”
Richard Matheson (1926–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man who trusts everyone is a fool, and a man who trusts no one is a fool. We are all fools, if we live long enough.”
Robert Jordan (1948–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let the Vorin believe as they wish—the wise among them will find goodness and solace in their faith; the fools would be fools no matter what they believed.”
Brandon Sanderson (born 1975) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fools make researches and wise men exploit them—that is our earthly way of dealing with the question, and we thank Heaven for an assumed abundance of financially impotent and sufficiently ingenious fools.”
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) said by 1946 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Common sense is wisdom, and wisdom is different from knowledge. You are wise when you no longer act against yourself. You are wise when you live in harmony with yourself, with your own kind, with all of creation.”
Miguel Ángel Ruiz (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We think, I’m not a fool today. I’ve learned my lesson. I was a fool yesterday but not this morning. Then tomorrow we find out that, yes, we were a fool today too. I think the only way we can grow and get on in this world is to accept the fact we’re not perfect and live accordingly.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No Particular Night or Morning (1951)
“It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all the time, but you can not fool all of the people all the time... Dogs, on the other hand, with them all you need to do is flick your wrist and they run off looking for some stupid tennis ball. (Famous cat quotes)”
Darby Conley (born 1970) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bucky Katt's Big Book of Fun, page 114 and daily strip for December 10, 2001
“One of the drawbacks of being President, he’d discovered, was that you couldn’t always call a damn fool a damn fool to his face. Sometimes, no matter how big a damn fool he was, you knew you might need him again one of these days.”
Harry Turtledove (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I am a fool then it is no misfortune, for then only one more fool will wander this Earth. Amongst the millions of mentally deranged it would barely be noticed. But what if I am not a fool, and that science itself has erred? Then the tragedy is incalculable!”
Viktor Schauberger (1885–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: No. 51, p. 29. As translated & edited by Callum Coats, Water Wizard (1998).
“Every fool has a rainbow But he never seems to find The reward that should be waiting At the end of the line. But he'll give up a bed of roses For a hammock filled with thorns And go chasing after rainbows Every time a dream is born. And every fool has a rainbow That only he can see Every fool has a rainbow And the rule applies to me.”
Merle Haggard (1937–2016) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Every Fool Has A Rainbow", on A Portrait of Merle Haggard (1969)
“You can fool people. You can fool anybody any time of the day, but you can't fool yourself. At night, when you go home, you've got to be straight up with you.”
Whitney Houston (1963–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now and then there's a fool such as I am over you. You taught me how to love And now you say that we are through. I'm a fool, but I'll love you dear Until the day I die Now and then there's a fool such as I.”
Bill Trader (1922–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fool if you think it's over 'Cause you said goodbye Fool if you think it's over I'll tell you why New born eyes always cry with pain At the first look at the mornin' sun Fool if you think it's over It's just begun”
Chris Rea (1951–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why was he thinking of her now? Fool, fool, fool. The barmaid had cast the oldest spell of all on him, a cantrip requiring only alcohol, sorrow, and time.”
Jay Lake (1964–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is easy for the fool, especially the learned and scientific fool, to prove that there is no God, but, like the murmuring sea, which heeds not the scream of wandering birds, the soul of humanity murmurs for God, and confutes the erudite folly of the fool by disregarding it.”
John Service (Scottish divine) first seen 1877 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Salvation Here and Hereafter: Sermons and Essays (London: Macmillan and Co, 1877) X. "Christianity and Ritual", p. 217. Quoted in James Orr, The Christian View of God and the World, 7th ed. (Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 19…
“Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Indeed, wisdom is born of meditation; without meditation wisdom is lost. Knowing this twofold path of gain and loss of wisdom, one should conduct oneself so that wisdom may increase.”
Gautama Buddha (501–501 BC) said by 501 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. Therefore one with love, courage, and wisdom is one in a million who moves the world, as with Jesus, Buddha, and Gandhi.”
Ammon Hennacy (1893–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“when a fool fails he says I was unlucky, when a wise man fails he says what a fool I had been. Song "If I was a Cat" live version.”
Avner Strauss (born 1954) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (2003 Blues Festival)
“Be wise with speed; A fool at forty is a fool indeed.”
Edward Young (1683–1765) said by 1765 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The wise man who is not heeded is counted a fool, and the fool who proclaims the general folly first and loudest passes for a prophet and Führer, and sometimes it is luckily the other way round as well, or else mankind would long since have perished of stupidity.”
Carl Jung (1875–1961) first seen 1955 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mysterium Coniunctionis (1955)
“The fool hath said … The fool hath said And we, who deemed him wise, We, who believed that Thou wast dead, How should we seek Thine eyes?How should we seek to Thee for power, Who scorned Thee yesterday? How should we kneel in this dread hour? Lord, teach us how to pray.”
Alfred Noyes (1880–1958) said by 1958 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no greater fool than he who thinks himself wise; no one wiser than he who suspects he is a fool.”
Marguerite de Navarre (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those who wish to appear wise among fools, among the wise seem foolish.”
Quintilian (35–96) said by 96 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“True wisdom knows it must comprise some nonsense as a compromise, lest fools should fail to find it wise.”
Piet Hein (1905–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In politics and politicians' lies The modern farmer waxes wondrous wise; Opinionates with wisdom all compact, And een could tell a nation how to act; Throws light on darkness with excessive skill, Knows who acts well and whose designs are ill, Proves half the members nought but bribery's tools, And calls the past a dull dark age of fools.”
John Clare (1793–1864) said by 1864 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are always more disposed to laugh at nonsense than at genuine wit; because the nonsense is more agreeable to us, being more comformable to our own natures: fools love folly, and wise men wisdom.”
Marguerite de Navarre (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”
Paul of Tarsus (5–66) said by 66 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A wise man poor Is like a sacred book that’s never read,— To himself he lives, and to all else seems dead. This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom’s school.”
Thomas Dekker (writer) first seen 1599 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Old Fortunatus (1599).
Also quoted by: Ben Jonson
“The wise through excess of wisdom is made a fool.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When a wise man does not understand, he says: "I do not understand." The fool and the uncultured are ashamed of their ignorance. They remain silent when a question could bring them wisdom.”
Frank Herbert (1920–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source