quotations about wisdom
Many things imperfect by nature are made perfect by wisdom.
NICCOLO UZZANO
attributed, Day's Collacon
Never, no, never did Nature say one thing and Wisdom say another.
EDMUND BURKE
Letters on a Regicide Peace
None of us was born knowing or wise; but men become wise by consideration, observation, experience.
BENJAMIN WHICHCOTE
Moral and Religious Aphorisms
The beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of folly.
NORMAN MACDONALD
Maxims and Moral Reflections
Who knows whence he comes, where he is, and whither he tends, he, and he alone, is wise.
JOHANN CASPAR LAVATER
Aphorisms on Man
Wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good.
GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ
Love in the Time of Cholera
Knowing how to make a banana pudding is knowledge, but wisdom is knowing if others appreciate your efforts.
LARRY EFIRD
"Wisdom, knowledge and banana pudding", Salisbury Post, January 9, 2016
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
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
No man has all the wisdom in the world; everyone has some.
EDGAR WATSON HOWE
Country Town Sayings
Crime is the entertainment of the fool; so is wisdom for the man of sense.
BIBLE
Proverbs 10:23
How poor is the wisdom of men, and how uncertain their forecast!
ST. THERESA
attributed, Day's Collacon
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"
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
Wisdom consists, not in seeing what is directly before us, but in discerning those things which may come to pass.
TERENCE
attributed, Day's Collacon
A word to the wise is -- unnecessary.
EVAN ESAR
20,000 Quips & Quotes
Full oft we see
Cold wisdom waiting on superfluous folly.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
All's Well That Ends Well
Wisdom is a safe ship; and we may trust ourselves to it in all weathers.
EDWARD COUNSEL
Maxims
Learning discernment is a lifelong project, and wisdom is hard-won.
JEANIE MILEY
"Learning discernment is a lifelong project", San Angelo Standard-Times, January 29, 2016