Wisdom Quotes – Socrates in the Agora
Wisdom quotes can be found thousands of years ago in the earliest written documents of mankind. Here are some wisdom quotes that are truly timeless which may be useful for your own life:
Wisdom Quotes from Ancient Times
“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” – Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.” – Ecclesiastes 7:12
“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.” – Confucius
“Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.” – 1 Corinthians 2:6
“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.” – Buddha
“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.” – Buddha
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.” – Lao Tzu
“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” – Socrates
“Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.” – Epicurus
“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.” – Plutarch
“The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.” – Cicero
“He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” – Aeschylus
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” – Saint Augustine
Benjamin Franklin – Courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art
Wisdom Quotes from the Recent Past
“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” – Francis of Assisi
“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” – Immanuel Kant
“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.” – Benjamin Franklin
“We must expect reverses, even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters.” – Robert E. Lee
“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.” – Khalil Gibran
“The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one’s self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when it be obeyed.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity.” – Calvin Coolidge
“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” – Charles Spurgeon
John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration
Wisdom Quotes from Modern Times
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niehbur (also known as the Serenity Prayer)
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” – George Bernard Shaw
“The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first. A process which often reduces the most complex human problem to a manageable proportion.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.” – Bob Marley
“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” – Jimi Hendrix
“I look forward to a great future for America – a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.” – John F. Kennedy
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” – Isaac Asimov
“Through consciousness, our minds have the power to change our planet and ourselves. It is time we heed the wisdom of the ancient indigenous people and channel our consciousness and spirit to tend the garden and not destroy it.” – Bruce Lipton
“What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely.” – Christopher Reeve
“I love being. There’s so much wisdom in it. You wake up in the morning and you think, Hey, isn’t it great just being?” – Gwyneth Paltrow
“Hatred is corrosive of a person’s wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and block a nation’s progress to freedom and democracy.” – Liu Xiaobo
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” – James Allen
“Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phil Jackson
“I love wisdom. And you can never be great at anything unless you love it. Not be in love with it, but love the thing, admire the thing. And it seems that if you love the thing, and you don’t just want to possess it, it will find you.” – Maya Angelou
“Outside of the cross of Jesus Christ, there is no hope in this world. That cross and resurrection at the core of the Gospel is the only hope for humanity. Wherever you go, ask God for wisdom on how to get that Gospel in, even in the toughest situations of life.” – Ravi Zacharias