William James on wisdom

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

The union of the mathematician with the poet, fervor with measure, passion with correctness, this surely is the ideal.

It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand in an uncertified result is the only thing that makes the result come true.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

Socrates470–399 BC

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Confucius551–479 BC

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we
understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.