Wisdom
Saint Paul the Apostle on Money
“People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them.” Saint Paul the Apostle, The Bible (1 Timothy 6:10)
Marie Curie on Understanding
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Skłodowska-Curie Polish chemist & physicist (1867 – 1934)
The Bible on Anger
“The start of an argument is like a water leak – so stop it before real trouble breaks out.” The Bible, Proverbs 17:14
Baltasar Gracian on Wisdom
“A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.” Baltasar Gracian
Yoda Wisdom Quote
“Do or do not… there is no try.” Jedi Master Yoda – Star Wars (created by George Lucas)
Louis Pasteur on Education
“Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur
Thomas A. Edison on Opportunity
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A. Edison US inventor (1847 – 1931)
Saint Augustine on Wisdom
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine
Mark Twain Wisdom Quote
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 – 1910)
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Greatness
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Essay on Self-Reliance US essayist & poet (1803 – 1882)
Francis Bacon on Certainties
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.” Sir Francis Bacon English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 – 1626)
Stanislaw J. Lec on Patience
“You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience.” Stanislaw J. Lec, “Unkempt Thoughts” Polish writer (1909 – 1966)
Gilbert K. Chesterton on Imagination
“It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.” Gilbert K. Chesterton English author & mystery novelist (1874 – 1936)
Albert Einstein on Wisdom at Solving Problems
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Danny Kaye on Life
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Maya Angelou on Change
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” Maya Angelou
Jef Mallett on Opinion
“An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it.” Jef Mallett Frazz, 04-04-07
Otto von Bismarck Cynical Quote
“When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice.” Otto von Bismarck German Prussian politician (1815 – 1898)
Seneca on Difficulties
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” Seneca
Mahatma Gandhi on Work
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” Mahatma Gandhi Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 – 1948)
Zig Ziglar on Friendship
“If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.” Zig Ziglar
Benjamin Franklin on Freedom and Security
“He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.” Benjamin Franklin
Sun Tzu on Leadership
“A leader leads by example not by force.” Sun Tzu Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC)
Aristotle on Age
“Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age.” Aristotle
Philip G. Hamerton on Quotations
“Have you ever observed that we pay much more attention to a wise passage when it is quoted than when we read it in the original author?” Philip G. Hamerton, “The Intellectual Life”
Socrates on Nature
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” Socrates
Aldous Huxley on Improvement
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley
Doctor Who on Maturity
“There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” Doctor Who
Samuel Johnson on Integrity & Knowledge
“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” Samuel Johnson English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 – 1784)
Sophocles on Wisdom
“A short saying oft contains much wisdom.” Sophocles Greek tragic dramatist (496 BC – 406 BC)
Oliver Wendell Holmes on the Results of our Actions
“A hundred years after we are gone and forgotten, those who never heard of us will be living with the results of our actions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Marshall McLuhan on Life
“There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.” Marshall McLuhan Canadian author, educator, & philosopher (1911 – 1980)
Sidney J. Harris on Regret
“Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.” Sidney J. Harris
Ralph Waldo Emerson on Courage and Persistence
“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Albert Einstein on Science
“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)
Tom Morris on Love and Life
“The meaning of life is creative love. Not love as an inner feeling, as a private sentimental emotion, but love as a dynamic power moving out into the world and doing something original.” Tom Morris
Thomas Jefferson on Peace
“Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.” Thomas Jefferson
J.R.R Tolkien on Wisdom
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crown less again shall be king.” J.R.R Tolkien
R. D. Hitchcock on Character and Education
“The secret of all success is to know how to deny yourself. Prove that you can control yourself, and you are an educated man; and without this all other education is good for nothing.” R. D. Hitchcock
Thomas Carlyle on Conceit
“The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none.” Thomas Carlyle Scottish author, essayist, & historian (1795 – 1881)
Oscar Wilde on Wisdom
“Only the shallow know themselves.” Oscar Wilde, “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young”, 1882 Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900)
Arthur Schopenhauer Wisdom Quote
“We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.” Arthur Schopenhauer German philosopher (1788 – 1860)
Serbian Proverb on Humility
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” Serbian proverb
H. L. Mencken on Age & Wisdom
“The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” H. L. Mencken US editor (1880 – 1956)
Marcus Tullius Cicero on Age
“As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He that follows this rule may be old in body, but can never be so in mind.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Charles M. Crowe on Easter
“Easter tells us that life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things but in terms of ideals.” Charles M. Crowe