A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can. Michel de Montaigne
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance. Benjamin Franklin
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Patience is the companion of wisdom. Saint Augustine
There is this difference between happiness and wisdom, that he that thinks himself the happiest man really is so; but he that thinks himself the wisest is generally the greatest fool. Charles Caleb Colton
We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. Samuel Smiles
To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. Bertrand Russell
Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. Elbert G Hubbard
A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times. Lord Acton
Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone. Horace.
Abundance of knowledge does not teach men to be wise. Heraclitus
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. Immanuel Kant
Justice is a denial of mercy, and mercy a denial of justice. Only a higher force can reconcile these opposites: wisdom. The problem cannot be solved, but wisdom can transcend it. Ernst F Schumacher
Knowledge can be communicated, but wisdom cannot. A man can find it, he can live it, he can be filled and sustained by it, but he cannot utter or teach it. Hermann Hesse
Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; wisdom is humble that it knows no more. William Cowper
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. Lord Alfred Tennyson
The days that make us happy make us wise. John Masefield
To know and love another human being is the root of all wisdom. Evelyn Waugh
Mixing one’s wines may be a mistake, but old and new wisdom mix admirably. Bertolt Brecht
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. Confucius
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk. Doug Larson
Wisdom is dead. Long live information. Mason Cooley
It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish. Aeschylus
No man is the wiser for his learning. John Selden
Wise men say nothing in dangerous times. John Selden
Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. Norman Cousins
That is true wisdom, to know how to alter one’s mind when occasion demands it. Terence.
The clearest sign of wisdom is continued cheerfulness. Michel Montaigne
Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late. Felix Frankfurter
The wisest men follow their own direction. Euripides
This type of man who is devoted to the study of wisdom is always most unlucky in everything, and particularly when it comes to procreating children; I imagine this is because Nature wants to ensure that the evils of wisdom shall not spread further throughout mankind. Desiderius Erasmus