It is no less a feat to keep what you have, than to increase it. In one there is chance, the other will be a work of art.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
Nothing can be done quickly and prudently at the same time.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
Want of prudence is too frequently the want of virtue; nor is there on earth a more powerful advocate for vice than poverty.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Prudence is a rich, ugly, old maid courted by incapacity.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
Prudence and compromise are necessary means, but every man should have an impudent end which he will not compromise.
—Charles Cooley (1864–1929) American Sociologist
He that is overcautious will accomplish but very little.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
Those who, in the confidence of superior capacities or attainments, neglect the common maxims of life, should be reminded that nothing will supply the want of prudence; but that negligence and irregularity, long continued, will make knowledge useless, wit ridiculous, and genius contemptible.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Rashness belongs to youth; prudence to old age.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Never speak of a rope in the family of one who has been hanged.
—French Proverb
I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats or any contemptuous expressions, for neither of these weaken the enemy, but threats make him more cautious, and the other excites his hatred, and a desire to revenge himself.
—Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) Florentine Political Philosopher
Prudence is an attitude that keeps life safe, but does not often make it happy.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Prudence is the necessary ingredient in all the virtues, without which they degenerate into folly and excess.
—Jeremy Collier (1650–1726) Anglican Church Historian, Clergyman
Prudent men lock up their motives, letting only their familiars have a key to their hearts as to their garden.
—William Shenstone (1714–63) British Poet, Landscape Gardener
It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
If the prudence of reserve and decorum dictates silence in some circumstances, in others prudence of a higher order may justify us in speaking our thoughts.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
Prudence is a duty which we owe ourselves, and if we will be so much our own enemies as to neglect it, we are not to wonder if the world is deficient in discharging their duty to us; for when a man lays the foundation of his own ruin, others too often are apt to build upon it.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
Prudence is a quality incompatible with vice, and can never be effectively enlisted in its cause.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
It is a truth but too well known, that rashness attends youth, as prudence does old age.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
That man is prudent who neither hopes nor fears anything from the uncertain events of the future.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
Courage is rarely reckless or foolish … courage usually involves a highly realistic estimate of the odds that must be faced.
—Margaret Truman (1924–2008) American Singer, Writer, Historian
The bounds of a man’s knowledge are easily concealed if he has but prudence.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Men are born with two eyes, but with one tongue, in order that they should see twice as much as they say.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Prudence is the virtue by which we discern what is proper to do under various circumstances in time and place.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
There is nothing more imprudent than excessive prudence.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Aristotle is praised for naming fortitude as the first of the virtues; but he might, with propriety, have placed prudence before it, since without prudence fortitude is madness.
—Samuel Griswold Goodrich (1793–1860) American Publisher, Writer
Chance fights ever on the side of the prudent.
—Euripides (480–406 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The prudence of the best heads is often defeated by the tenderness of the best of hearts.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
Valour lies just halfway between rashness and cowardice.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
Men of sense often learn from their enemies.—It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war; and this lesson saves their children, their homes, and their properties.
—Aristophanes (447–386 BCE) Greek Comic Playwright