Wisdom
George Bernard Shaw on Wisdom
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” George Bernard Shaw, “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” (1893) act II Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 – 1950)
Laurence J. Peter on Anger
“Speak when you are angry – and you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret.” Laurence J. Peter US educator & writer (1919 – 1988)
Euripides on Foolishness
“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.” Euripides Greek tragic dramatist (484 BC – 406 BC)
Thomas Carlyle on Silence
“Silence is more eloquent than words.” Thomas Carlyle
Abraham Maslow on Problems
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)
Isaac Asimov on Knowledge
“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.” Isaac Asimov US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)
Proverbs 15:17 on Love
“A simple meal with love is better than a feast where there is hatred.” Proverbs 15:17
Chinese Proverb on Wisdom
“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” Chinese Proverb
Mark Twain on Anger
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” Mark Twain
Albert Einstein on Science & Religion
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Albert Einstein
Robert Service on Success
“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out – it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” Robert Service
Benjamin Franklin on Education
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin
Lucius Annaeus Seneca on Anger
“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca
David Russell on Life
“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” David Russell
Abigail Van Buren on Society
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.” Abigail Van Buren
Plutarch on Wisdom
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch
John Andrew Holmes on Self
“It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others.” John Andrew Holmes
King Solomon on Value
“Good people are remembered long after they are gone, but the wicked are soon forgotten.” Solomon a king of Israel and a thinker
Leo Tolstoy on Change
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Leo Tolstoy Russian mystic & novelist (1828 – 1910)
Albert Einstein on Success
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein
Winston Churchill on Success
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
Mohandas Gandhi on Change
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mohandas Gandhi
Gail Hamilton on Responsibility
“Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his abilities, and for no more.” Gail Hamilton
Albert Einstein on Solving Problems
“The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation.” Albert Einstein
Zig Ziglar on Success
“I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” Zig Ziglar
Proverbs 12:18 on Wisdom
“Sharp words cut like a sword, but words of wisdom heal.” Proverbs 12:18
Sun Tzu on War and Wisdom
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Sun Tzu on Victory
“The greatest victories are those won without fighting.” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Robert Frost on Life
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” Robert Frost US poet (1874 – 1963)
Josh Billings on Silence
“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” Josh Billings US Humorist (1818 – 1885)
John Kenneth Galbraith on Thinking
“The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.” John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006)
Albert Einstein on Mistakes
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Albert Einstein
Louis L’Amour on Contentment
“Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content.” Louis L’Amour US novelist of westerns (1908 – 1988)
Socrates on Wisdom
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Socrates
Demosthenes on Business and Success
“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” Demosthenes
Benjamin Franklin on Wisdom
“The doors of wisdom are never shut.” Benjamin Franklin
Mark Twain on Genius
“Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered – either by themselves or by others.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Tom Stoppard on Age
“I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity.” Tom Stoppard British dramatist & screenwriter (1937 – )
Mark Twain on Courage
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Aesop on Kindness
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
Anonymous Quote
“Write a wise saying and your name will live forever.” Anonymous
George Santayana on History
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana
Frank Zappa on the Mind
“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.” Frank Zappa
Confucius on Change
“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.” Confucius
Mark Twain’s Cynical Quote
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Socrates on Wisdom
“If a man would move the world, he must first move himself.” Socrates
Carl Sandburg on Time
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” Carl Sandburg
Charles Caleb Colton on Hate
“We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.” Charles Caleb Colton (1780 – 1832)
Ausonius on Forgiveness
“Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.” Ausonius
George Harrison on Direction
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” George Harrison, “Any Road”, Brainwashed, 2002 English singer & songwriter (1943 – 2001)
Antoine de Saint-Exupery on Life
“Life has meaning only if one barters it day by day for something other than itself.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Marquis de Vauvenargues on Education
“The things we know best are the things we haven’t been taught.” Marquis de Vauvenargues
La Fontaine on Judging
“Beware so long as you live, of judging people by appearances.” La Fontaine
John Ruskin Wisdom Quote
“What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” John Ruskin English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 – 1900)
John Calvin Coolidge on Honor
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” John Calvin Coolidge
Quentin Crisp Wisdom Quote
“Treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster.” Quentin Crisp
William James on Life
“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” William James US Pragmatist philosopher & psychologist (1842 – 1910)
John F. Kennedy on Power
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.” John F. Kennedy
Lucius Annaeus Seneca on Wisdom
“No man was ever wise by chance.” Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Pappilon on Character
“A temptation resisted is a true measure of character.” Pappilon