Quotes About Wisdom

One of the consequences of covetousness is that it destroys the capacity to discern sufficiency. It distorts our thinking to the point where: Enough is never enough.

as my great-uncle says, much of the

The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.

Every nation whose affairs betray a want of wisdom and stability may calculate on every loss which can be sustained from the more systematic policy of its wiser neighbors.

What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual and surest support?

The people of the U.S. owe their Independence & their liberty, to the wisdom of descrying in the minute tax of 3 pence on tea, the magnitude of the evil comprised in the precedent. Let them exert the same wisdom, in watching against every evil lurking under plausible disguises, and growing up from small beginnings.

Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance.

Where we see the same faults followed regularly by the same misfortunes, we may reasonably think that if we could have known the first we might have avoided the others.

Expirience is the oracle of truth

The aim of every political constitution is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust.

Quotes. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

When John O'Malley was a Jesuit novice, an older priest told him three things to remember when living in community: First, you're not God. Second, this isn't heaven. Third, don't be an ass.

Overall, being spiritual and being religious are both part of being in relationship with God. Neither can be fully realized without the other. Religion without spirituality can become a dry list of dogmatic statements divorced from the life of the spirit. This is what Jesus warned against. Spirituality without religion can become a self-centered complacency divorced from the wisdom of a community. That's what I'm warning against. For St. Ignatius

Religion can provide a check to my tendency to think that I am the center of the universe, that I know better than anyone about God, and that God speaks most clearly through me.

Great works are often quiet works.

The gatekeeper at the first door asks, "Is it true?" The second gatekeeper asks, "Is it helpful?" The third gatekeeper asks, "Is it kind?

First, you're not God. Second, this isn't heaven. Third, don't be an ass

the Portuguese adage holds true: God writes straight on crooked lines.

Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.

All Christians have access to the spiritual riches found in the Scriptures, which, after all, were written amid the spiritual turmoil and social conflicts of the writers' times. We can learn from those who went before us.

Detachment, freedom, and a sense of humor are signposts on the road to holiness.

Some of the best advice from Jesuits on human relationships comes in earthy ways. When John O'Malley was a Jesuit novice, an older priest told him three things to remember when living in community: First, you're not God. Second, this isn't heaven. Third, don't be an ass. Had I followed those guidelines earlier, I could have saved myself years of self-induced heartache.

Just because you've discerned doesn't mean that you shouldn't look to reality for some real-life confirmation. As one Jesuit said, "Trust your heart but use your head, too.