Quotes About Wisdom

Account no man happy till he dies.

Give a wise man an honest brief to plead and his eloquence is no remarkable achievement.

Life is short; this being so, who would pursue great things and not bear with what is at hand? These are the ways of madmen and men of evil counsel, at least in my judgment.

When a wise man chooses a sane basis for his arguments, it is no great task to speak well.

Let mortal man keep to his own Mortality, and not expect too much.

Humility, a sense of reverence before the sons of heaven - of all the prizes that a mortal man might win, these, I say, are wisest; these are best.

There is naught a man or woman can not learn who hath the wit.

A young man not yet, an elder man not at all.

Men on their side must force themselves for a while to lay their notions by and begin to familiarize themselves with facts.

One of the fathers saith . . . that old men go to death, and death comes to young men.

I knew a wise man that had it for a by-word, when he saw men hasten to a conclusion, "Stay a little, that we may make an end the sooner."

The errors of young men are the ruin of business, but the errors of aged men amount to this, that more might have been done, or sooner.

There are many wise men that have secret hearts and transparent countenances.

Knowledge hath in it somewhat of the serpent, and therefore where it entereth into a man it makes him swell.

Few things are needed to make a wise man happy; nothing can make a fool content; that is why most men are miserable.

There is no accident so unfortunate but wise men will make some advantage of it, nor any so entirely fortunate but fools may turn it to their own prejudice.

Self-love is more cunning than the most cunning man in the world.

A respectable man may love madly, but not foolishly.

Passion often makes a fool of the cleverest man and often makes the most foolish men clever

If it were not for the company of fools, a witty man would often be greatly at a loss.

It is with an old love as it is with old age a man lives to all the miseries, but is dead to all the pleasures.

It is easier to know men in general, than men in particular.

A clever man should handle his interests so that each will fall in suitable order of their value.

Men never desire anything very eagerly which they desire only by the dictates of reason.