wisdom quotes

Alex Noble:

If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.


Andre Gide:

Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.



Kalidasa:

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.

A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.

Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit.

He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

No man was ever wise by chance.

Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.