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Quotes about wisdom

352 quotes from 209 people

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I looked upon man’s days, and found a grey
Shadow. And this thing more I surely say,
That those of all men who are counted wise,
Strong wits, devisers of great policies,
Do pay the bitterest toll. Since life began,
Hath there in God’s eye stood one happy man?
Fair days roll on, and bear more gifts or less
Of fortune, but to no man happiness.
Euripides481–407 BCMedea (431 BC), Part 2, spoken by MessengerIn context
- Happiness
- Life & Death
Have no respect whatsoever for authority; forget who said it and instead look what he starts with, where he ends up, and ask yourself, “Is it reasonable?”
Richard Feynman1918–1988“What Do You Care What Other People Think?”, p. 28-29
- Advice
- Thinking
Whenever you feel like criticizing any one… just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.
F. Scott Fitzgerald1896–1940The Great Gatsby (1925)
- Advice
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald1896–1940The Great Gatsby (1925), Chapter IIn context
- Advice
Life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.
F. Scott Fitzgerald1896–1940The Great Gatsby (1925), Chapter IIn context
Never say ‘no’ to adventures. Always say ‘yes’, otherwise you’ll lead a very dull life.
Ian Fleming1908–1964Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang (1964), Ch. 2
- Advice
Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom.
Anatole France1844–1924The Literary Life (1888-1892), Series III: Rabelais
- Humor
It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.
Anatole France1844–1924Le livre de mon ami (1885): Le livre de Pierre, part I, ch. II: La dame en blanc
- Thinking
I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the wisdom of indifference.
Anatole France1844–1924The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), Pt. II, ch. 4
It is well for the heart to be naive and for the mind not to be.
Anatole France1844–1924The Literary Life (1888-1892), Series II: M. Jules Lemaître
Money can help you to get medicines but not health. Money can help you to get soft pillows, but not sound sleep. Money can help you to get material comforts, but not eternal bliss. Money can help you to get ornaments, but not beauty. Money will help you to get an electric earphone, but not natural hearing. Attain the supreme wealth, wisdom, and you will have everything.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790
- Money
The doors of wisdom are never shut.
Benjamin Franklin1706–1790Poor Richard’s Almanack
Good fences make good neighbours.
Robert Frost1874–1963Mending Wall (1914)In context
- Friendship
Live a balanced life — learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Robert Fulghumborn 1937All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (1986)
- Advice
All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten.
Robert Fulghumborn 1937All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (1986)
- Education