Quotes About Wisdom

Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little men. To the mind belongs the office of thinking. By thinking, it gets the right view of things; by neglecting to think, it fails to do this. Let a man first stand fast in the supremacy of the nobler part of his constitution, and the inferior part will not be able to take it from him. It is simply this which makes the great man.

Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it. . . .

14. Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.

Trinity College (Dublin) library

Don't be a genius, my son, it isn't good for anybody.

I am no lover of disorder and doubt as such. Rather I fear to lose truth by the pretension to possess it already wholly.

we have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood

There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.

Our science is a drop, our ignorance a sea.

Moral scepticism can no more be refuted or proved by logic than intellectual scepticism can. When we stick to it that there is truth (be it of either kind), we do so with our whole nature, and resolve to stand or fall by the results. The sceptic with his whole nature adopts the doubting attitude; but which of us is the wiser, Omniscience only knows.

Phrases of neatness, cosiness, and comfort can never be an answer to the sphinx's riddle.

Cara untuk menjadi bijaksana adalah tahu apa yang harus dimaafkan.

Knowledge about a thing is not the thing itself.

Our impulsive belief is here always what sets up the original body of truth, and our articulately verbalized philosophy is but its showy translation into formulas. The unreasoned and immediate assurance is the deep thing in us, the reasoned argument is but a surface exhibition. Instinct leads, intelligence does but follow.

The error is needed to set off the truth, much as a dark background is required for exhibiting the brightness of a picture. And

Common sense is BETTER for one sphere of life, science for another, philosophic criticism for a third; but whether either be TRUER absolutely, Heaven only knows.

Believe truth! Shun error!—these, we see, are two materially different laws; and by choosing between them we may end by coloring differently our whole intellectual life. We may regard the chase for truth as paramount, and the avoidance of error as secondary; or we may, on the other hand, treat the avoidance of error as more imperative, and let truth take its chance.

The wise man profits by the vanity of his fellow-creatures.

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful graces of God.

Our former selves are never dead. We speak to them, arguing against decisions we know will bring only unhappiness, offering consolation and hope, even though they cannot hear.

He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.

Thus Spake Zarathustra

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana

My words are like the stars that never change.