The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
—Niels Bohr (1885–1962) Danish Physicist
I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
Wisdom is to the mind what health is to the body.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Heroism works in contradiction to the voice of mankind and in contradiction, for a time, to the voice of the great and good. Heroism is an obedience to a secret impulse of an individual’s character. Now to no other man can its wisdom appear as it does to him, for every man must be supposed to see a little farther on his own proper path than any one else. Therefore just and wise men take umbrage at his act, until after some little time be past: then they see it to be in unison with their acts. All prudent men see that the action is clean contrary to a sensual prosperity; for every heroic act measures itself by its contempt of some external good. But it finds its own success at last, and then the prudent also extol.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
There’s no emptiness in the life of a warrior. Everything is filled to the brim. Everything is filled to the brim, and everything is equal.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
We cannot advance without new experiments in living, but no wise man tries every day what he has proved wrong the day before.
—James Truslow Adams (1878–1949) American Historian, Writer
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
At church, with meek and unaffected grace,
His looks adorn’d the venerable place;
Truth from his lips prevail’d with double sway,
And fools who came to scoff, remain’d to pray.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
The good four. Honest with ourselves and with whatever is friend to us; courageous toward the enemy; generous toward the vanquished; polite-always that is how the four cardinal virtues want us.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
Only the idea of death makes a warrior sufficiently detached so that he is capable of abandoning himself to anything. He knows his death is stalking him and won’t give him time to cling to anything so he tries, without craving, all of everything.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too self-ful to seek other than itself.
—Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
The extreme limit of wisdom—that’s what the public calls madness.
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French Poet, Playwright, Film Director
The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
Nine times out of ten it is over the Bridge of Sighs that we pass the narrow gulf from youth to manhood. That interval is usually marked by an ill placed or disappointed affection. We recover and we find ourselves a new being. The intellect has become hardened by the fire through which it has passed. The mind profits by the wrecks of every passion, and we may measure our road to wisdom by the sorrows we have undergone.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
In order to improve the mind, we ought less to learn, than to contemplate.
—Rene Descartes (1596–1650) French Mathematician, Philosopher
Wise living consists perhaps less in acquiring good habits than in acquiring as few habits as possible.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
—Heraclitus (535BCE–475BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Wisdom begins in wonder.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
The true statesman does not despise any wisdom, howsoever lowly may be its origin.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Without knowledge there can be neither true morality nor piety.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Consistently wise decisions can only be made by those whose wisdom is constantly challenged.
—Ted Sorensen (1928–2010) American Lawyer, Presidential Speechwriter
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of the nonessentials.
—Lin Yutang (1895–1976) Chinese Author, Philologist
In much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Well I am certainly wiser than this man. It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge to boast of; but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance. At any rate it seems that I am wiser than he is to this small extent, that I do not think that I know what I do not know.
—Socrates (469BCE–399BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Shall I show you the sinews of a philosopher? “What sinews are those?”—A will undisappointed; evils avoided; powers daily exercised; careful resolutions; unerring decisions.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquility.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Inventor, Architect
A villain’s cleverness is only for his own destruction. It corrupts his brains and kills his virtuous nature.
—Buddhist Teaching
When you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you life in the wisdom of the Self.
—The Bhagavad Gita Hindu Scripture
Wisdom is the power to perceive the best ends to aim at and the best means for reaching those ends.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
By others faults the wise correct their own.
—Common Proverb
Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
The constancy of sages is nothing but the art of locking up their agitation in their hearts.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Young people, especially, are looking for religion so desperately that they are inventing new ones. They should not have to invent new ones; the old religions are pretty good.
—Irving Kristol (1920–2009) American Political Writer, Publisher
Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The wise person has long ears and a short tongue.
—German Proverb
Cleverness is not wisdom.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Even for the rebuilding of the Temple the instruction of the children must not be interrupted.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I cannot live without books.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Be not swept off your feet by the vividness of the impression, but say, “Impression, wait for me a little. Let me see what you are and what you represent. Let me try you”.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
A wise man thinks what is easy is difficult.
—John Churton Collins (1848–1908) English Literary Critic
Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.
—Theodore Isaac Rubin (1923–2019) American Psychiatrist, Author
A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.
—Chinese Proverb
No man can be wise on an empty stomach.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Knowledge in youth is wisdom in age.
—Common Proverb