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

Y
"Insanity is contagious."
Yossarian
T
"Congratulations. I am a Tralfamadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains."
Tralfamadorian
J
"A man with no conscience is a dead man already."
Javert
J
"Duty is the essence of humanity."
Javert
W
"Sanity is not statistical."
Winston Smith
R
"Which is better to have laws and agree or to hunt and kill?"
Ralph
S
"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill."
Simon
O
"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing."
Old Major
O
"Beware of false leaders who dazzle you with cheering words."
Old Major
P
"The quality of a man's life is determined by the quality of the questions he asks"
Pierre Bezukhov
M
"The mind of man is capable of anything"
Marlow
J
"To forgive is not weakness but strength."
Jean Valjean
Y
"We're all mad here."
Yossarian
D
"Insanity is contagious."
Doc Daneeka
C
"The secret to understanding the universe is in the details."
Chaplain Tappman
M
"The best things in life are worth paying for."
Milo Minderbinder
R
"There was no sport in it—no real play about it."
Ralph
S
"That's how things are."
Simon
O
"No animal shall drink alcohol."
Old Major
T
"He had ability, but he had no judgment"
The Manager
M
"What does the word even mean?"
Marlow
R
"We've got to talk about this. And decide. Now."
Ralph
F
"I have tasted the wretched fate of poverty and I know its bitterness."
Fantine
J
"We are shaped by our choices, not merely by our circumstances."
Jean Valjean
Y
"Orr was crazy and could be grounded."
Yossarian
Y
"That's some catch, that Catch-22."
Yossarian
T
"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend."
The Creature
V
"Sorrow only increased with knowledge."
Victor Frankenstein
M
"An appeal to something high in his nature."
Marlow
W
"Sanity is not statistical."
Winston Smith