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Wise Quotes

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Wise Quotes

“..(T)here are two opposite reasons for being a democrat. You may think all men so good that they deserve a share in the government of the commonwealth, and so wise that the commonwealth needs their advice. That is, in my opinion, the false, romantic doctrine of democracy. On the other hand, you may believe fallen men to be so wicked that not one of them can be trusted with any irresponsible power over his fellows.”

ThinkingMenNeedsBelieveMayTwoReasonHandsGovernmentOpinionDemocracyWiseShareAdviceDeserveOppositesFellowsDemocratDoctrineFallenWickedTrustedIrresponsibleCommonwealthTwo Opposites
Author:C. S. Lewis
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“I may have had many projects, but I never was free to carry out any of them. It did me little good to be holding the helm; no matter how strong my hands, the sudden and numerous waves were stronger still, and I was wise enough to yield to them rather than resist them obstinately and make the ship founder. Thus I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstances.”

MayLittlesStillsMatterEnoughHandsStrongMy OwnWiseMastersCircumstancesProjectsArmyStrongerWaveShipsYieldFoundersHelm
Author:Napoleon Bonaparte
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“It is a kind and wise arrangement of Providence that weaves our sorrows into the elements of character and that all the disappointments, and conflicts, and afflictions of life may, if rightly used, become the means of improvement, and create in us the sinews of strength.... the dross is left in the crucible, the baser metals are transmuted, and the character is enriched with gold.”

IfsKindMayMeanCharacterUsedLeftWiseSorrowConflictElementsGoldDisappointmentImprovementMetalsProvidenceArrangementsAfflictionCrucibleDross
Author:William Morley Punshon
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“It is ignorance that is at times incomprehensible to the wise; for instance, he may not see 'the positive person' or 'the negative person' in a black and white way as many people do. A wise man may not understand it because, as a catalyst of wisdom, but not wise in his own eyes, even he can learn from and give back to fools. To think that an individual has absolutely nothing to offer to the table is counter-intuitively what the wise man considers to be 'the ignorance of hopelessness'.”

PeopleThinkingMenWayGivingMayPersonsEyeIndividualBlackWhiteWiseIgnoranceFoolOffersNegativeTablesInstanceBlack And WhiteHopelessnessGiving BackAbsolutely NothingCatalystPositive Person
Book:Killosophy
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“The artist may rightly venture the opinion that he does not convey ideas, does not preach, nor that he intents to convert people by using mass communication techniques.. .Better than handing out all kinds of wise advice, he could show life itself; he could awake forces lying dormant in everybody, he could launch an invitation to create direct and personal experiences.”

PeopleKindMayDoeIdeasShowsLyingArtistForceOpinionWiseAdviceCommunicationMassDirectTechniqueAll KindsAwakeVentureInvitationsPersonal ExperiencesDormantMass CommunicationWise Advice
Author:Antoni Tapies
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“I, a pilgrim of eternity, stand before Thee, O eternal One. Let me not seek to deaden or destroy the desire for Thee that disturbs my heart. Let me rather yield myself to its constraint and go where it leads me. Make me wise to see all things today under the form of eternity, and make me brave to face all the changes in my life which such a vision may entail: through the grace of Christ my Saviour. Amen”

HeartMayTodayFacesFormDesireChristVisionGraceWiseMy HeartEternalAll ThingsLet MeEternityBraveTheeYieldConstraintsSaviourPilgrimAmenLeading MeChanging My Life
Book:A diary of private prayer
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“He that alone would wise and mighty be,Commands that others love as well as he.Love as he lov'd! - How can we soar so high?-He can add wings when he commands to fly.Nor should we be with this command dismay'd;He that examples gives will give his aid:For he took flesh, that where his precepts fall,His practice, as a pattern, may prevail.”

GivingShouldWellsMayFallPracticeWiseExampleWingsAddPatternsAidsFleshCommandSoarDismay
Book:The Works of Edmund Waller, Esq: In Verse and Prose
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“Wise or unwise, who doubts for a moment that contentment is the cause of happiness? Yet the inverse is true: we are contented because we are happy, and not happy because we are contented. Well-regulated minds may be satisfied with a small portion of happiness; none can be happy with a small portion of content.”

MindWellsMayMomentsCausesDoubtWiseSatisfiedContentmentPortionsNot HappyUnwiseInverse
Book:The works of Walter Savage Landor [ed. by J. Forster].
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“Evolution does not attempt to explain the origin of life. It is simply a history of the process of life. With the secret cause of life evolution has nothing to do. A man, therefore, may be a materialistic evolutionist or a theistic evolutionist; that is, he may believe that the cause is some single unintelligent impersonal force, or he may believe that the cause is a wise and beneficent God.”

MenBelieveMayDoeForceCausesProcessSecretWiseEvolutionMaterialisticOrigin Of LifeUnintelligentProcess Of Life
Book:The Theology of an Evolutionist
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“For such is the nature of men, that howsoever they may acknowledge many others to be more witty, or more eloquent, or more learned, yet they will hardly believe there be many so wise as themselves, for they see their own wit at hand, and other men's at a distance. But this proveth rather that men are in that point equal, than unequal. For there is not ordinarily a greater sign of the equal distribution of any thing than that every man is contented with his share.”

MenBelieveMayWisdomHandsGreaterWiseShareEqualDistanceWittyWitEvery ManAcknowledgeDistributionEloquentNature Of Man
Book:The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury
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“There are so many kinds of madness, so many ways in which the human brain may go wrong; and so often it happens that what we call madness is both reasonable and just. It is so. Yes. A little reason is good for us, a little more makes wise men of some of us--but when our reason over-grows us and we reach too far, something breaks and we go insane.”

MenWayHumansKindMayLittlesReasonHappensGrowsBrainBreakWiseMadnessInsaneReasonableHuman Brain
Book:Works by James Oliver Curwood (Illustrated, 22 books)
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“We have entered a new and different world-richly interconnected and radically multicentric-in which the traditional holders of power have to move over and make room for new stakeholders, new players, and new leaders of many kinds. Nobody in Charge, drawing on the learnings of a wise and widely experienced public executive, offers some priceless insights into how things have changed, where they are now, and where we may be going next in this bewildering terrain.”

WorldKindMayDifferentMovingNextRoomsLeaderWisePlayerChangedOffersInsightDrawingTraditionalExecutivesPricelessDifferent WorldsInterconnectedTerrainThings Have ChangedStakeholder
Author:Walter Truett Anderson
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“Two things, Christian reader, particularly excite the will of man to good. A principle of justice is one, the other the profit we may derive therefrom. All wise men, therefore, agree that justice and profit are the two most powerful inducements to move our wills to any undertaking. Now, though men seek profit more frequently than justice, yet justice is in itself more powerful.”

MenMayTwoChristianMovingPoliticsJusticePowerfulPrinciplesEconomyWiseReaderAgreeProfitTwo ThingsLiberalismMost PowerfulUndertakings
Book:The Sinner's Guide
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“Whatever may be the immediate gains and losses, the dangers to our safety arising from political suppression are always greater than the dangers to that safety arising from political freedom. Suppression is always foolish. Freedom is always wise. That is the faith, the experimental faith, by which we Americans have undertaken to live.”

MayPoliticalLossGreaterWiseAtheismDangerGainsSafetyFoolishSuppressionPolitical FreedomGains And Losses
Author:Alexander Meiklejohn
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“Who exactly do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? What are your personal ideals? Whom do you admire? What are their special traits that you would make your own It's time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to become wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become. If you have a daybook, write down who you're trying to be, so that you can refer to this self-determination. Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people.”

PeopleIfsWantShouldWritingTryingKindMayPersonsSelfWishWiseSpecialIdealsDeterminationExtraordinaryAdmirePreservesSelf DeterminationTraitsAspireVagueDemeanorExtraordinary Person
Author:Epictetus
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“What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government without horror. From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevocable and tremendous! What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and falacious! Would to God that wise measures may be taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too much reason to apprehend.”

ThinkingYearsMayReasonCharacterGovernmentFormSpeakActingLibertyStepsTakenToo MuchWiseHorrorEqualCapableConsequenceIdealsBasesTriumphIncapableAstonishingRespectableGoverningDespotismForms Of GovernmentIrrevocableAvertSingle Step
Author:George Washington
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“For the multitude of worldly friends profiteth not, nor may strong helpers anything avail, nor wise counselors give profitable counsel, nor the cunning of doctors give consolation, nor riches deliver in time of need, nor a secret place to defend, if Thou, Lord, do not assist, help, comfort, counsel, inform, and defend.”

IfsNeedsGivingMayGodHelpingStrongSecretLordWiseComfortDoctorsRichesMultitudesWorldlyConsolationCunningProfitableCounselorTime Of NeedHelpersSecret Places
Author:Thomas a Kempis
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“In prosperous fortunes be modest and wise, The greatest may fall, and the lowest may rise: But insolent People that fall in disgrace, Are wretched and nobody pities their Case.”

PeopleMayFallCasesWiseFortunePityModestLowestWretchedProsperousDisgraceInsolent
Book:A Benjamin Franklin reader: the essential writings of a colonial sage ; Autobiography, Wit & wisdom
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“If thou seest anything in thyself which may make thee proud, look a little further and thou shalt find enough to humble thee; if thou be wise, view the peacock's feathers with his feet, and weigh thy best parts with thy imperfections.”

IfsLooksMayLittlesEnoughViewsWiseFeetProudHumbleTheeImperfectionFeathersThyselfBeing WisePeacockSelf-examination
Book:Enchiridion Institutions, Essays and Maxims, political, moral & divine. Divided into four centuries. By Francis Quarles
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