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

S
"A man must know his limitations"
Stannis Baratheon
J
"Perhaps that's the secret. Perhaps they make it that way"
Jon Snow
D
"I will teach them that the dragon has three heads"
Daenerys Targaryen
T
"Better to be a drunken fool than a clever fool"
Tyrion Lannister
K
"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."
Kris Kelvin
E
"The less you own, the less it owns you."
Estraven
G
"The world does not owe us understanding, only the opportunity to seek it."
Genly Ai
E
"The heart understands what the mind cannot explain."
Estraven
P
"Much that was anticipated has come to pass, and much that was unanticipated has also come to pass."
Paul Atreides
S
"The spice must flow."
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions
S
"Beginnings are such delicate times."
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions
S
"How strange it is that a man can slay his enemy with far greater ease than he can say he was wrong."
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions
T
"In a world where assassins have access to poisons from a thousand worlds, safety is largely a matter of anticipated precaution."
Thufir Hawat
S
"The sietch is our fortress, but it is also our key to the water."
Stilgar
M
"The way to win is not to play."
Mazer Rackham
E
"I am the one, but I am not the only."
Ender Wiggin
S
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent"
Salvor Hardin
S
"The greatest danger lies not in the enemy without, but in ignorance within"
Salvor Hardin
S
"Chaos breeds opportunity for the prepared mind"
Salvor Hardin
S
"What appears to be weakness is often calculated strategy"
Salvor Hardin
S
"Mercy and firmness must be balanced by those in power"
Salvor Hardin
T
"I drink and I know things."
Tyrion Lannister
E
"A man who cannot see men does not exist."
Estraven
E
"What is not known is more dangerous than what is known."
Estraven
S
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent"
Salvor Hardin
A
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live."
Arthur Dent
E
"The cold clarifies thought."
Estraven
P
"When you can do something about a thing, then you must worry. When you cannot do anything about a thing, then it does no good to worry."
Paul Atreides
P
"A man is known by the quality of his enemies."
Paul Atreides
S
"The sleeper wakes, but does he see?"
Spice-induced narrator/Paul's visions