quotations about wisdom
Like gold in the hands of a savage are the sayings of wisdom in the mouth of a fool.
EDWARD COUNSEL
Maxims
The disadvantage of becoming wise is that you realize how foolish you've been.
EVAN ESAR
20,000 Quips & Quotes
No, that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY
A Farewell to Arms
Line upon line, a little here and there,
We scrape together wisdom with slow care.
Wherefore? To blossom in a churchyard rose,
Or to go with the spirit--if it goes?
KARLE WILSON BAKER
"Wisdom", Blue Smoke
Wisdom is a palace, of which only the vestibule has yet been entered.
ELIZA COOK
Diamond Dust
The wise may find in trifles light as atoms in the air, some useful lesson to enrich the mind.
JOHN GODFREY SAXE
"King Solomon and the Bees"
How poor is the wisdom of men, and how uncertain their forecast!
ST. THERESA
attributed, Day's Collacon
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, wisdom is the "Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct" and "sound judgement". My goodness, think if wisdom were a modern concept, regularly practiced, how much less shocking news we would have every day! If only celebrities didn't make such silly displays of themselves on late-night television shows; if tourists didn't insist on taking naked selfies on sacred mountains; if Justin Bieber could only behave like a sensible young man; if politicians were once again filled with serious integrity. Then our lives would not be spinning out of control with nonsense. What if Donald Trump had the wisdom to keep his mouth shut? What if scientists realize that just because they can create robot soldiers doesn't mean they should?
DOROTHY TURCOTTE
"The world in 2016 could use a little more wisdom", Niagara This Week, January 12, 2016
Who knows whence he comes, where he is, and whither he tends, he, and he alone, is wise.
JOHANN CASPAR LAVATER
Aphorisms on Man
No man has all the wisdom in the world; everyone has some.
EDGAR WATSON HOWE
Country Town Sayings
Wisdom casts a more sparkling color than the ruby, it makes us shine as angels.
THOMAS WATSON
attributed, Day's Collacon
Now, if wisdom is God, who made all things, as is attested by the divine authority and truth, then the philosopher is a lover of God.
ST. AUGUSTINE
The City of God
Gaining wisdom is a wonderful thing. Giving it back is better.
MIKE BELL
"Canadian jazz great Bob Erlendson set to celebrate his 85th in style with Ironwood show", Calgary Herald, January 16, 2016
The beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of folly.
NORMAN MACDONALD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
As we get older, we should get wiser automatically, as the result of our experiences and learning throughout life. That doesn't always happen. Even when we try hard, we sometimes make errors in judgement. Learning from those errors is part of becoming wiser.
DOROTHY TURCOTTE
"The world in 2016 could use a little more wisdom", Niagara This Week, January 12, 2016
In youth men are apt to write more wisely than they really know or feel; and the remainder of life may be not idly spent in realizing and convincing themselves of the wisdom which they uttered long ago.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
preface, The Snow-Image
Full oft we see
Cold wisdom waiting on superfluous folly.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
All's Well That Ends Well
Be wisely worldly, but not worldly wise.
FRANCIS QUARLES
Emblems: Divine and Moral
There is no folly like the folly of the wise.
JACQUELINE CAREY
Kushiel's Dart
Wisdom is a safe ship; and we may trust ourselves to it in all weathers.
EDWARD COUNSEL
Maxims