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

"The mind that stops growing begins to decay."
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac
"The pursuit of wisdom is the pursuit of authentic freedom."
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac
P
"To know oneself is the beginning of all wisdom."
Poliziano Angelo
P
"Humility is the companion of true learning."
Poliziano Angelo
P
"Every failure is a lesson in disguise."
Poliziano Angelo
"To understand the world, one must first understand oneself; the mirror of knowledge is always turned inward."
Émilie du Châtelet
"To question is to live; to cease questioning is to surrender one's humanity."
Émilie du Châtelet
"Wisdom whispers; ignorance shouts. We must learn to listen to the quiet voice within."
Émilie du Châtelet
"A mind that questions is a mind that grows; complacency is the death of the spirit."
Émilie du Châtelet
P
"The pursuit of wisdom is the highest calling."
Pico della Mirandola
P
"The cosmos mirrors the infinite possibilities within man."
Pico della Mirandola
P
"Reason is our highest faculty and greatest treasure."
Pico della Mirandola
P
"Wisdom teaches us what matters and what does not."
Pico della Mirandola
P
"Knowledge without virtue is dangerous wisdom."
Pico della Mirandola
G
"Wisdom comes to those who seek it earnestly."
Giambattista della Porta
"The stars tell us many things, if we but listen with an open heart."
Catherine de Medici
"A well-placed word accomplishes what armies cannot."
Catherine de Medici
"One learns the art of power by observing those who lack it."
Catherine de Medici
"The intellect must govern the heart, always and without exception."
Catherine de Medici
"The darkness teaches what the daylight never can."
Catherine de Medici
"The mind that doubts itself has already found wisdom."
Catherine de Medici
"I trust in the stars, but I also trust in my own calculations."
Catherine de Medici
"A kingdom is only as strong as its women are wise."
Catherine de Medici
I
"The mind is the true seat of nobility, for it alone can elevate or diminish the human spirit."
Isabella d'Este
I
"Beauty without intellect is merely decoration; intellect without beauty is coldly ineffective."
Isabella d'Este
I
"To negotiate well is to understand what the other person truly desires beneath their stated demands."
Isabella d'Este
I
"The woman who understands men's weaknesses without exploiting them demonstrates true wisdom."
Isabella d'Este
I
"To question authority is not disrespect but the highest form of engagement with the world."
Isabella d'Este
M
"To know oneself is to stand at the threshold of divinity."
Marsilio Ficino
M
"The lover of wisdom must first become a lover of beauty."
Marsilio Ficino