Wisdom Quotes

"True wisdom lies in knowing what matters and what does not."

"The virtue of temperance is not about self-denial, but about right ordering of desire."

"We must learn to distinguish between what we want and what is good."

"The mind is like water; when turbulent it cannot reflect clearly, but when still it mirrors all things perfectly."

"Wisdom is not the accumulation of facts, but the refinement of understanding through experience."

"The unexamined life accumulates regrets; the examined life accumulates wisdom."

"The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

"Knowledge is power, but wisdom is the power to use that knowledge well."

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

"We often confuse what we desire with what is genuinely good for us."

"A good person is one whose desires have been properly shaped by virtue."

"Prudence, or practical wisdom, is the master virtue that directs all others."

"Humility is recognizing both our capacities and our limitations."

"Compassion without justice becomes mere sentimentality."

"We must attend to the particulars of situations rather than abstracting away all detail."

"Courage in one context may be foolhardiness in another; wisdom discerns the difference."

"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world."

"How do you know you are not dreaming right now?"

"A picture held us captive. And we could not get outside it."

"The object of philosophy is the clarification of thoughts."

"Problems arise when language goes on holiday."

"The totality of true thoughts is the picture of the world."

"Language disguises the thought."

"It is dangerous to read the newspapers because one might be infected by global panic."

"The work of the philosopher consists in assembling reminders for a particular purpose."

"Don't think, but look!"

"One should respect every sentence by trying to understand it."

"Whereof we cannot speak, we should speak even less."

"As people of practical intelligence, we often see what will happen before it happens."