Common sense is not so common.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
To act with common sense according to the moment, is the best wisdom I know; and the best philosophy is to do one’s duties, take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one’s lot; bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it, whatever it is; and despise affectation.
—Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717–97) English Art Historian, Man of Letters, Politician
When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it’s best to let him run.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Good sense is the master of human life.
—Unknown
Common sense is what tells us the Earth is flat and the Sun goes around it.
—Unknown
Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.
—Calvin Ellis Stowe (1802–86) American Biblical Scholar
Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
—Rene Descartes (1596–1650) French Mathematician, Philosopher
Common sense is judgment without reflection, shared by an entire class, an entire nation, or the entire human race.
—Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) Italian Philosopher, Rhetorician, Jurist
Why level downward to our dullest perception always, and praise that as common sense? The commonest sense is the sense of men asleep, which they express by snoring.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
That’s the way things come clear. All of a sudden. And then you realize how obvious they’ve been all along.
—Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) American Author
Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense, differing from the latter only as a veteran may from a raw recruit, and its methods differ from those of common sense, only as the guardsman’s cut and thrust differ from the manner in which a savage wields his club.
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95) English Biologist
Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) American Writer
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Common sense is, of all kinds, the most uncommon.—It implies good judgment, sound discretion, and true and practical wisdom applied to common life.
—Tryon Edwards (1809–94) American Theologian, Author
The common people of America display a quality of good common sense which is heartening to anyone who believes in the democratic process.
—George Gallup (1901–84) American Public-Opinion Pollster
Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them. It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English Mathematician, Philosopher
Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Who is the most sensible person? The one who finds what is to their own advantage in all that happens to them.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Common sense is genius in homespun.
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English Mathematician, Philosopher
Common sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses.
—Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Polymath, Painter, Sculptor, Architect
The voice of the Lord is the voice of common sense, which is shared by all that is.
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902) British Victorian Novelist, Essayist, Critic
What a grand thing it is to be clever and have common sense.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
In the war for individual rights, common sense becomes the first and major casualty.
—Unknown
Common sense is compelled to make its way without the enthusiasm of anyone; all admit it grudgingly.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Common sense is the genius of humanity.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
To see what is in front of one’s nose requires a constant struggle.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
The biggest shortage of all is the shortage of common sense.
—Unknown
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