Wisdom Quotes

"The human understanding is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the will and affections."

"Silence is the virtue of fools."

"A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open."

"Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight."

"Self-denial is not the abnegation of the self but its fullest realization."

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

"Dumb men will speak when the wise hold their peace."

"The mind of man is a thing of reason and also a thing of passion."

"The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses."

"Every man bears two characters: the one he bears with himself, the other with the world."

"The wise adapt themselves to circumstances as water molds itself to the pitcher."

"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

"Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other evil's attend upon its heels."

"A thoughtless word may cost you your fortune."

"Better a mouth without teeth than a wit without wisdom."

"Do not all go in the same boat."

"Words are the dress of thoughts."

"Wisdom is the art of knowing what to overlook."

"Never be the first to do anything; never the last to be aware."

"The greatest wisdom is in knowing oneself."

"Avoid an irritable man for the next thirty days."

"The greatest test is discretion."

"Judge a man not by what he owns but by what he knows."

"The height of prudence is vigilance."

"Guard against the madness of large inheritances."

"Common sense is the best sense."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas."

"Never compete directly with those above you in power."

"To know when to speak is to know when to act."

"Silence is often the wisest counsel."