No man is clever enough to know all the evil that he does.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Cleverness is not wisdom.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
It is great cleverness to know how to conceal our cleverness.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.
—Chinese Proverb
I would prefer as a friend a good man who is ignorant than one more clever who is evil, too.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The good lawyer knows the law; the clever one knows the judge.
—U.S. Proverb
When luck joins in the game, cleverness scores double.
—Yiddish Proverb
You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
—Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006) Egyptian Novelist
God is clever, but not dishonest.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.
—William C. Durant (1861–1947) American Industrialist
What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool!
—Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) British Children’s Books Writer, Short story, Novelist, Poet, Journalist
Clever people will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
The desire to seem clever often keeps us from being so.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Find enough clever things to say, and you’re a Prime Minister; write them down and you’re a Shakespeare.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
The advice of a clever woman can ruin a strong town.
—Chinese Proverb
The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man really clever who has not found that he is stupid. There is no big man who has not felt small. Some men never feel small; but these are the few men who are.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Words are like the spider’s web: a shelter for the clever ones and a trap for the not-so-clever.
—African Proverb
No woman marries for money; they are all clever enough, before marrying a millionaire, to fall in love with him first.
—Cesare Pavese (1908–50) Italian Novelist, Poet, Critic, Translator
A clever doctor never treats himself.
—Chinese Proverb
It’s good to be clever, but not to show it.
—French Proverb
You think you are clever until you find out how smart you are.
—Unknown
Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like.
—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) British Novelist, Playwright, Critic
Too clever is stupid.
—German Proverb
A man likes his wife to be just clever enough to appreciate his cleverness, and just stupid enough to admire it.
—Israel Zangwill (1864–1926) English Playwright, Novelist, Zionist Activist
Clever men are good, but they are not the best.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Don’t be so clever; cleverer ones than you are in jail.
—Russian Proverb
There is hardly a man clever enough to recognize the full extent of the evil he does.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer