Wisdom Quotes

"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future."

"A man's defects will tell you more than his good points."

"The most dangerous moment comes with victory."

"When you want to fool the world, tell the truth."

"To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making."

"Sometimes the weak overcome the strong by being twice as clever."

"The wise man learns from the mistakes of others."

"A man's own judgment should be the final appeal."

"A policy that will work today cannot be guaranteed tomorrow."

"A question asked boldly is worth more than a thousand safe silences."

"The general will is always right and tends invariably toward the public utility."

"The wise man questions everything but doubts nothing."

"The wise adapt; the fool insists on rigidity."

"In the marketplace of ideas, the loudest voice often drowns out the wisest counsel."

"I have learned that ideals are beautiful but mortals are weak vessels for their containment."

"In the struggle for justice, pragmatism and idealism must dance together."

"The pen and the sword are both instruments of power; wisdom is knowing when to use each."

"The crowd is never wrong about what it needs, only about how to achieve it."

"To abandon principle for expediency is to lose both in the end."

"In times of crisis, the conventional wisdom is usually wrong."

"We must be suspicious of those who offer easy solutions to difficult problems."

"The past teaches, but it need not imprison us."

"The pursuit of perfect justice often results in the prevention of good justice."

"We must be suspicious of heroes; systems are more important than individuals."

"We must be willing to question everything, including our own assumptions."

"I have always believed that a monarch must understand the hearts of his people."

"The measure of a man is not in his station, but in his character."

"The humble man understands that wisdom often comes from unexpected sources."

"They judged me harshly for being young in a role meant for the ancient."

"Wisdom comes not from years lived, but from sorrows endured."