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

H
"In the pursuit of truth, all must be questioned."
Hugo Grotius
H
"Wisdom comes with experience."
Hugo Grotius
C
"Perfection is not just about control. It is also about letting go."
Christian Wolff
C
"The pursuit of truth requires the elimination of contradictions."
Christian Wolff
C
"The love of wisdom is the beginning of all virtue."
Christian Wolff
C
"Virtue is the cultivation of our highest capacities as rational beings."
Christian Wolff
C
"Order is the first law of the universe and the first requirement of wisdom."
Christian Wolff
C
"The pursuit of knowledge is among the highest of human activities."
Christian Wolff
C
"Reason is the light by which we navigate the darkness of ignorance."
Christian Wolff
J
"True nobility is derived from virtue, not from birth"
Jean Bodin
J
"The wise man learns more from his enemies than the fool from his friends"
Jean Bodin
H
"Knowledge of oneself is the beginning of all wisdom."
Hugo Grotius
H
"The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water adapts itself to the form of the pitcher."
Hugo Grotius
H
"The wise man learns from the mistakes of others."
Hugo Grotius
H
"Wisdom comes from experience and reflection."
Hugo Grotius
J
"Wisdom comes not from books alone, but from living and observing."
Johann Herder
J
"Wisdom recognizes the limits of its own understanding."
Johann Herder
C
"Knowledge without virtue is a weapon turned against oneself."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"Virtue must be cultivated through reason and practice."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"Wisdom is not the accumulation of facts, but their wise application."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"The human mind, when properly cultivated, has no limits."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"Virtue is the only true aristocracy."
Catharine Macaulay
C
"A mind that questions is a mind that grows."
Catharine Macaulay
J
"The task of the excellent man is to refuse the bad and to choose the good."
Johann Goethe
J
"In every person there are two distinct voices: that of the angel and that of the demon."
Johann Goethe
J
"The years teach much which the days never know."
Johann Goethe
J
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Johann Goethe
J
"We hear only those questions for which we are in a position to find answers."
Johann Goethe
F
"The human spirit is capable of bearing all suffering, but not all meaninglessness."
Friedrich Schiller
F
"Dare to be wise; begin now."
Friedrich Schiller