Quotes About Wisdom

To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

Wisdom I know is social. She seeks her fellows. But Beauty is jealous, and illy bears the presence of a rival.

I have seen enough of one war never to wish to see another.

Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.

My only fear is that I may live too long. This would be a subject of dread to me.

So confident am I in the intentions, as well as wisdom, of the government, that I shall always be satisfied that what is not done, either cannot, or ought not to be done.

We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.

A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement.

But with respect to future debt; would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare in the constitution they are forming that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself can validly contract more debt, than they may pay within their own age, or within the term of 19 years.

Health is worth more than learning.

Man is fed with fables through life, and leaves it in the belief he knows something of what has been passing, when in truth he has known nothing but what has passed under his own eye.

The bulk of mankind are schoolboys through life.

We never regret having eaten too little.

Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.

When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.

There is no reason to believe that we are now on a higher intellectual or spiritual level than during ancient times.

Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning.

In a crisis of choice when you are perplexed and do not know which way to go, it might be good to consult several persons.

A book has but one voice, but it does not instruct everyone alike.

We do NOT know the past in chronological sequence. It may be convenient to lay it out anesthetized on the table with dates pasted on here and there, but what we know we know by ripples and spirals eddying out from us and from our own time.

Once a story is told, it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world.

you have to be careful with the stories you tell. And you have to watch out for the stories that you are told.

Why do we ask the important questions after they've been answered?

There is no greater wisdom than kindness