Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech.
—Unknown
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Beware of an over-pious ignoramus and of one badly trained.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Anguish of mind has driven thousands to suicide; anguish of body, none. This proves that the health of the mind is of far more consequence to our happiness than the health of the body, although both are deserving of much more attention than either receives.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Wisdom not only gets, but once got, retains.
—Francis Quarles (1592–1644) English Religious Poet
Wisdom increases with years; and so does folly.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
May you live every day of your life.
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Irish Satirist
Nine-tenths of wisdom consists in being wise in time.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
Philosophy’s power to blunt all the blows of circumstance is beyond belief.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
You do not understand even life. How can you understand death?
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Where wisdom is called for, force is of little use.
—Herodotus (c.485–425 BCE) Ancient Greek Historian
A man never reaches that dizzy height of wisdom that he can no longer be lead by the nose.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
A wise man will make tools of what comes to hand.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
The greatest event for the world is the arrival of a new and wise person.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Wise people may say what they will, but one passion is never cured by another.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
The greatest scholars are not usually the wisest people.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Repeat, “repeat,” that is the best medicine for memory.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
If thou hast acquired knowledge, what canst thou lack? If thou lackest knowledge, what canst thou acquire?
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Wisdom is knowledge which has become a part of one’s being.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most. On Other Peoples Expectations: The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Wisdom will never let us stand with any man on an unfriendly footing. We refuse sympathy and intimacy with people, as if we waited for some better sympathy or intimacy to come. But whence and when: Tomorrow will be like today. Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all.
—Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636–1711) French Poet, Satirist, Literary Critic
Science gives us knowledge, but only philosophy can give us wisdom.
—William C. Durant (1861–1947) American Industrialist
God is dead.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.
—African Proverb
Of all the paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a best path … a thing which, here and now, it were of all things wisest for him to do … to find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.
—William Cowper (1731–1800) English Anglican Poet, Hymn writer
The wise man always throws himself on the side of his assailants. It is more his interest than it is theirs to find his weak point.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Wisdom overcomes fortune.
—Juvenal (c.60–c.136 CE) Roman Poet