Quotes About Wisdom

Be wise;Soar not too high to fall; but stoop to rise.

He that would govern others first should be master of himself.

The writing of contemporary history can be among the most treacherous of ambitions. Everybody knows we never appreciate what we have till it's gone; that the owl of Minerva flies at dusk; that familiarity breeds contempt; and so forth.

They say that even the brightest star won't shine forever. But in fact, the brightest star would live the shortest amount of time. Feel free to extract whatever life lesson you want from that.

I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief... I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important, such as life is immensely valuable and this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place. We should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world. [Washington Post interview, 19 February 2001]

We don't need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.

I write almost always in the third person, and I don't think the narrator is male or female anyway. They're both, and young and old, and wise and silly, and sceptical and credulous, and innocent and experienced, all at once. Narrators are not even human - they're sprites.

All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity.

Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.

Children are not less intelligent than adults; what they are is less informed.

I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief... I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important, such as life is immensely valuable and this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place. We should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world. [ Washington Post interview, 19 February 2001 ]

Uncle knows best.

Uncle knows best. -All the Lost Boys

Ni känner väl till släkten Pennyroyals motto: 'När det hettar till gömmer sig förståndigt folk under stora möbler'?

Han log blekt, som om han egentligen aldrig sett något le men hade läst en bok om hur man gjorde.

Reason cannot save us, nothing can; but reason can mitigate the cruelty of living.

Just like those who are incurably ill, the aged know everything about their dying except exactly when.

You put too much stock in human intelligence, it doesn't annihilate human nature.

Stop worrying about growing old. And think about growing up.

All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.

The facts must rule philosophy, not philosophy the facts.

To be fair to my dad, he is one of the brightest men I've ever met.

It is interesting that we instinctively make this connection when we talk of "being sensible" about taking wise actions or making wise choices. We also speak of arriving at a more healthy way of seeing and doing as "coming to our senses.