Wisdom Quotes

"The voice of reason is often drowned by the passions of men."

"The art of living well is the art of dying well."

"The greatest wisdom is the wisdom of knowing what we do not know."

"Human beings are the only creatures that laugh and cry."

"The human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual."

"The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain."

"Genealogy teaches us that what we inherit as natural is actually the result of violent struggles and forgetting."

"To become ethical is to acknowledge one's implication in systems of power and to work to transform them."

"Ethics is not a matter of principles but of constant negotiation with the forces that constitute and deform us."

"Men are not angels, and therefore require laws and institutions to check their passions."

"The art of diplomacy is knowing when to speak and when to remain silent."

"A government must be firm in its principles yet flexible in its methods."

"The test of statesmanship is the ability to discern what is possible from what is merely desirable."

"A leader who cannot admit error will never learn, and a leader who cannot learn will fail."

"The greatest wisdom is knowing the limits of one's knowledge and the limits of one's power."

"The art of politics is knowing which battles to fight and which to concede."

"A leader who cannot forgive will never be forgiven; a nation that cannot heal will never prosper."

"In times of peace, prepare for war; in times of war, work for peace."

"A leader must have the humility to admit when he is wrong and the courage to correct course."

"What we want is to see the character of gentleness associated everywhere with knowledge."

"The disease of an evil conscience is beyond the practice of all the physicians."

"Those persons are wisest who, as it is commonly said, know themselves."

"There are certain points upon which the public will never be wrong."

"I am afraid that the public mind is not yet prepared for this."

"We should have a fixed principle and a steady resolve."

"There is moderation even in excess."

"There is no index of character so sure as the voice."

"Experience is the universal philosopher."

"He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally ignorant of the opposite side, he has no ground for preferring either opinion."

"The most important of all our relations is that between ourselves and the circumstances of our position."