Never promise more than you can perform.
Publilius SyrusRead
He is a despicable sage whose wisdom does not profit himself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True wisdom should benefit both the wise person and others around them.
This quote highlights the importance of wisdom being practical and beneficial. It implies that a person who possesses wisdom but fails to use it to improve their own life or the lives of others is not truly wise, but rather, despicable. The underlying message is that wisdom should lead to positive outcomes and enrichment for oneself and for society.
Themes
WisdomBenefitKnowledgeSelf-ImprovementSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of applying knowledge practically.
More from Publilius Syrus
All quotes βPain forces even the innocent to lie.
Publilius SyrusRead
In a heated argument we are apt to lose sight of the truth.
Publilius SyrusRead
Admonish your friends privately, but praise them openly.
Publilius SyrusRead
What a tragedy is help where it harms what it supports!
Publilius SyrusRead
The miser is as much in want of what he has as of what he has not.
Publilius SyrusRead
Similar quotes
We can be as honest as we are ignorant. If we are, when asked what is beyond the horizon of the known, we must say that we do not know.
Robert Green IngersollRead
What would it be like to have not only color vision but culture vision, the ability to see the multiple worlds of others.
Mary Catherine BatesonRead
Riches are a cause of evil, not because, of themselves, they do any evil, but because they goad men on to evil.
PosidoniusRead
Temperance and labor are the two real physicians of man.
Jean-Jacques RousseauRead
But when I know that the glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious.
Ajahn ChahRead
Let knowledge grow from more to more, But more of reverence in us dwell; That mind and soul, according well, May make one music as before, But vaster.
Alfred Lord TennysonRead