Quotes on Wisdom

OUTCOME, n. A particular type of disappointment . . . . judged by the outcome, the result. This is immortal nonsense; the wisdom of an act is to be juded by the light that the doer had when he performed it.

He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.

From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own.

True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.

It is not enough to prove something, one also has to seduce or elevate people to it. That is why the man of knowledge should learns how to speak his wisdom: and often in such a way that it sounds like folly!

If the universe is so bad...how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator?

If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Both old and young alike ought to seek wisdom: the former in order that, as age comes over him, he may be young in good things because of the grace of what has been, and the latter in order that, while he is young, he may at the same time be old, because he has no fear of the things which are to come.

Merely to resist evil with evil by hating those who hate us and seeking to destroy them, is actually no resistance at all. It is active and purposeful collaboration in evil that brings the Christian into direct and intimate contact with the same source of evil and hatred which inspires the acts of his enemy. It leads in practice to a denial of Christ and to the service of hatred rather than love.

Whoever desires to purify his heart, then let him prefer Allah to his desires

When you resolve to become pious, the devil in your nature cries out at you, "Tread not those paths, O confused one; distress and poverty will overcome you. You will be despised, let down by friends, you will regret it." Dread of the devil has bound their souls; the cries of the devil are the drover of the damned; the call of the Lord is a guardian of the saints.

And the story of love is a long sad tale ending in graves.

Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud.

Don't stumble over something behind you.

The great religions are the ships, Poets the life boats. Every sane person I know has jumped overboard.

Wisdom makes a slow defense against trouble, though a sure one in the end.

If you do not think well of Him because His qualities are beautiful then think well of Him because of the way He treats you.

Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.

Vices are their own punishment