Wisdom Quotes

The best minds across centuries have wrestled with what it means to be wise. These quotes capture their hard-won insights.

64329 quotes

B
"Everything is nothing, and it keeps me wondering why I even try."
Billy Pilgrim
B
"Children are the only ones who truly understand."
Billy Pilgrim
N
"The therapeutic value of these games cannot be overlooked."
Nurse Ratched
R
"I know who I am, and that's enough."
Randle McMurphy
H
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you'll start missing everybody."
Holden Caulfield
H
"I don't know. I really don't."
Holden Caulfield
W
"Sanity is not statistical."
Winston Smith
C
"We're all crazy nuts, but some of us hide it better than others."
Chief Bromden
N
"You can't fix crazy, but you can manage it."
Nurse Ratched
R
"A gambling man knows when to fold and when to hold."
Randle McMurphy
H
"That's the way people are."
Holden Caulfield
H
"That's the problem, though."
Holden Caulfield
H
"That's the whole trouble."
Holden Caulfield
P
"To understand others, one must first understand oneself"
Pierre Bezukhov
J
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."
Jean Valjean
H
"The trouble with me is, I think things through too much sometimes."
Holden Caulfield
N
"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Nurse Ratched
R
"The real insanity is accepting your cage without question."
Randle McMurphy
C
"I finally understood what it meant to be a man."
Chief Bromden
O
"You are a slow learner, Winston, but you will learn."
O'Brien
E
"Drink calmly and let the uproar rage on outside."
Eliot Rosewater
B
"The most important thing I have learned is that human beings are sacred."
Billy Pilgrim
P
"Man cannot alter circumstances, but he can alter himself."
Pierre Bezukhov
H
"If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I want to do."
Holden Caulfield
H
"I swear to God I am."
Holden Caulfield
Y
"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22."
Yossarian
Y
"The world is crazy, and I'm the only sane man in it."
Yossarian
D
"I'll tell you what's the matter with you. You're crazy!"
Doc Daneeka
B
"People aren't supposed to look back. I'm certainly not going to look back anymore."
Billy Pilgrim
B
"We are here on Earth to fart around."
Billy Pilgrim