Wisdom Quotes

"The practice of virtue is the chief ornament of a civilized society."

"To understand another is to expand the boundaries of your own understanding."

"The soul of a republic depends upon the virtue of its citizens."

"To be poor in spirit is richer than to be poor in principle."

"Experience is the schoolmaster of fools, but wisdom is the teaching of the wise."

"The greatest strength is knowing when to yield without losing your convictions."

"Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise."

"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view."

"Experience teaches that men are often so much governed by what they are accustomed to seeing and practicing."

"Undertake great designs; but proceed slowly and with caution."

"Nature has bestowed upon us two ears, two eyes, and but one tongue; to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak."

"Every conversation ought to have a purpose."

"I do not believe in compromise with evil."

"To ignore evil is to become complicit in it."

"I am not asking for sympathy, only for understanding."

"I have never sought personal glory, only justice."

"I freed a thousand slaves; I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."

"If we would not flatter ourselves, we must learn how to be told of our faults by others."

"The fact that man can read does not make him wise."

"I have learned that the greatest virtues are often found in the most unexpected places."

"None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps."

"I came to the conclusion that the treatment of the lowest man in society is the real test of civilization."

"Understanding requires intellectual honesty."

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

"Without diversity, we lose perspective."

"Slavery can only be perpetuated by darkening the minds of men."

"The mind that becomes my mind must become my slave."

"Character is what you do when no one is watching."

"The mind of the man—not the color of his skin."

"I see the direction of the age."