Wisdom is the ability to use that knowledge with insight, compassion, and good judgment. Throughout history, philosophers, writers, leaders, and spiritual teachers have shared their understanding of wisdom, offering guidance that transcends cultures and generations.
- “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
— Aristotle - “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
— Charles Darwin - “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
— Oprah Winfrey - “Wisdom begins in wonder.”
— Socrates - “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
— Socrates - “In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth teaching.”
— Solomon Ibn Gabriol - “A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”
— Bruce Lee
- “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
— Leonardo da Vinci - “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”
— Plato - “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.”
— Francis Bacon - “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
— Charles Spurgeon - “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.”
— Victor Hugo
- “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver or gold.”
— Bob Marley - “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
— William Shakespeare - “Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing when to say it.”
- “You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.”
- “Be as smart as you can, but remember that it is always better to be wise than to be smart.”
— Alan Alda
- “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”
— Charles R. Swindoll - “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson - “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
— Henry David Thoreau - “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
— Dalai Lama - “The wise does at once what the fool does at last.”
— Baltasar Gracian
- “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
— Martin Luther King Jr. - “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”
— Aristotle - “To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.”
— Confucius - “Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - “When you know better, you do better.”
— Maya Angelou
- “A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.”
- “Don’t waste your time with explanations—people only hear what they want to hear.”
— Paulo Coelho - “Do not be wise in words—be wise in deeds.”
- “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
— Stephen R. Covey - “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”
— St. Augustine - “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”
— Chinese Proverb
- “Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.”
— African Proverb - “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
— Japanese Proverb - “Even a fish wouldn’t get caught if it kept its mouth shut.”
— Korean Proverb - “The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious.”
— Proverbs 16:23 (Bible) - “Empty vessels make the most noise.”
— Indian Proverb - “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
— Voltaire
Wisdom is a lifelong pursuit. These quotes are reminders to live thoughtfully, act with integrity, and continue growing. In a fast-paced world, taking time to reflect on wisdom can help ground us in what truly matters.
“Wisdom isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about learning to ask the right questions.”
