A Wise Man Quotes

Ws 6:1 Wisdom is better than strength: and a wise man is better than a strong man. ~ Various

As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances. ~ Confucius

When Eudaemonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but he that saith it never heard the sound of trumpets. ~ Plutarch

To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man. ~ Aristotle.

A wise man uses one ear to listen, the other to hear himself think. ~ Colin Tegerdine

I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others. A wise man will cultivate a servant's spirit, for that particular attribute attracts people like no other. As I humbly serve others, their wisdom will be freely shared with me. Often, the person who develops a servant's spirit becomes wealthy beyond measure. Many times, a servant has the ear of the king, and a humble servant often becomes a king, for he is the popular choice of the people. He who serves the most grows the fastest. I will become a humble servant. I will not look for someone to open my door - I will look to open the door for someone. I will not be distressed when no one is available to help me - I will be excited when I am available to help. I will be a servant to others. I will listen to the counsel of wise men. I will choose my friends with care. I will seek wisdom. ~ Andy Andrews

Two things a wise man never discloses to the public; his money and his women. ~ Habeeb Akande

A wise man alters his misconceptions when he learns the truth; a fool tries to beat the truth into the mold of his misconceptions. ~ Sarah A. Chrisman

It takes a wise man to recognize a wise man. ~ Xenophanes

A fool will study for twenty or thirty years and learn how to do something, but a wise man will study for twenty or thirty minutes and become an expert. In this world, it isn't ability that counts, but authority. ~ Barry Hughart

You know, I met a wise man centuries ago in China who said to me, 'He who lets fear rule him, has fear for a master. (Acheron)
Confucius? (Talon)
No, Minh-Quan. He was a fisherman who used to sell what I'm told was the best zong zi ever made. (Acheron) ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

The life of a wise man is most of all extemporaneous, for he lives out of an eternity which includes all time. ~ Henry David Thoreau

A wise man among the ignorant is as a beautiful girl in the company of blind men. ~ Saadi

It [angling] deserves commendations; ... it is an art worthy the knowledge and practice of a wise man. ~ Izaak Walton

The tension between religion and science is an old problem. In the fourth century, Christians and scientists were deadlocked over the matter of the earth's shape. Saint Augustine, a wise man who knew the difference between the outer life and the inner life, wrote: 'What concern is it of mine whether heaven is like a sphere and the earth is enclosed by it and suspended in the middle of the universe, or whether heaven like a disk above the earth covers it over on one side? These facts would be of no avail for my salvation.' Augustine attached little importance to science and left it alone. If a reading of the Bible conflicted with a scientific view that was certain truth, he humbly admitted that he had interpreted the Bible erroneously. He could afford to be humble, for in his inmost convictions he looked upon science the way a master looks upon his pet, as a creature with intelligence but lacking in higher understanding, and something irrelevant to the search for meaning in life. ~ Ronald W. Dworkin

She began to see that character is a better possession than money, rank, intellect, or beauty, and to feel that if greatness is what a wise man has defined it to be, 'truth, reverence, and good will,' then her friend Friedrich Bhaer was not only good, but great. ~ Louisa May Alcott

A fool shouts charge when he should retreat, A coward shouts retreat when he should charge and a wise man knows the difference. I charge. ~ Tonny K. Brown

Wisdom is a condition of consciousness rather than an attitude of mind. Wisdom is that state of being in which an individual finds himself when realization has tinctured and transmuted all attitudes and opinions. A wise man is one who has experienced wisdom, wisdom in this sense being a mystical experience. ~ Manly Hall

A wise man seeks by music to strengthen his soul: the thoughtless one uses it to stifle his fears. ~ Confucius

A wise man who cultivates wisdom may sometimes drown in it. ~ Eiji Yoshikawa

God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind. ~ Khalil Gibran

Knowledge is power, as some say. But on some days it is just as much pain and confusion as it is power; and any wise man worth his salt as a wise man at least understands this. One may be able to comprehend all the human perspectives in the universe, but this gives more to decipher regarding what is actually true; and even after discovering the truth, the challenge is in maintaining a patience for the infinite number of opinions that do not reflect that truth. Its consistency in man is challenge. A worldly knowledge ends at the former challenge of confusion, but the knowledge of Christ ends at the latter challenge of patience. ~ Criss Jami

A wise man once said that we can't make anyone feel or do anything. We can throw things into the wind, but it's up to each person to decide how they want to react, where they want to stand when things fall. ~ Jonathan Maberry

If anger were money, only a fool would greedily save it up. And a wise man would let it slip out of his heart like change slips out of his pants pockets. ~ Jarod Kintz

A wise man, once he is past fifty, does not befuddle his senses with strong drink, nor make violent love in the cool spring night, nor dance on his hands. ~ Frans G. Bengtsson

A wise man had said that your Christian life is like a three-legged stool. The legs are doctrine, experience and practice, which is obedience; and you, will not stay upright unless all three are there. In recent years many Christians have not kept these three together. ~ J.I. Packer

An ignorant man is always able to say yes or no immediately to any proposition. To a wise man, comparatively few things can be propounded which do not require a response with qualifications, with discriminations, with proportion. ~ Horace Mann

To speak and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks. ~ Ben Jonson

Late one night, during a toss-and-turn fretful sleep, I pondered my crisis. No solutions were on the horizon. I, again, wasted my psychic energy with prayer. Nothing. No angel on a white cloud. No rainbow's pot of gold. No way to control the people I loved. As I rolled over and put the pillow over my head attempting to block all that was negative, I silently screamed for rescue. Then, in a far away and distinct part of my brain, a small voice said, "You have to do this on your own."

I thought, "Was that the best You can do?" This god, to whom I was desperately sending burnt offerings of my own humiliation, couldn't send an avenging angel or a wise man imparting wisdom? All You can give me is this feeble message of abandonment? At that moment, I quit believing in that god. ~ David W. Earle

What a wise man knows is great,
what a fool knows is little,
and what God knows is infinite.
God does not condemn a man for not knowing,
but condemns a man for knowing and not doing. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

A wise man once found peace in the practice of saying nothing, leaving the gossiper with no other choice but to fabricate gossip about a wise man saying nothing ~ Herbert Maurice Brunner

A good man and a wise man may at times be angry with the world, at times grieved for it; but be sure no man was ever discontented with the world who did his duty in it. ~ Robert Southey

A wise man knows how little he knows and upon his death he drinks wisdom from an empty cup. ~ John Tarttelin

It takes a wise man to handle a lie, a fool had better remain honest. ~ Norman Douglas

In honesty you have to admit to a wise man that prayer is not for the wise, not for the prudent, not for the sophisticated. Instead it is for those who recognize that in face of their deepest needs, all their wisdom is quite helpless. It is for those who are willing to persist in doing something that is both childish and crucial. ~ Frederick Buechner

A man must fortify himself and understand that a wise man who yields to laziness or anger or passion or love of drink, or who commits any other action prompted by impulse and inopportune, will probably find his fault condoned; but if he stoops to greed, he will not be pardoned, but render himself odious as a combination of all vices at once. ~ Apollonius Of Tyana

A wise man will live as much within his wit as within his income. ~ Lord Chesterfield

A wise man nourishes his soul each morning with the word of God and enriches his day with God's wisdom. Psalm 19:7. ~ Felix Wantang

Get a friend to tell you your faults, or better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you keenly and sting you savagely. What a blessing such an irritating critic will be to a wise man, what an intolerable nuisance to a fool! ~ Charles Spurgeon

Three things a wise man will not trust, The wind, the sunshine of an April day, And woman's plighted faith. ~ Robert Southey

Money is the root of all evil.' Then we hear, 'A fool and his money are soon parted.' What are they talking about? If money is so evil, shouldn't it be, 'A wise man and his money are soon parted'? And another thing, how does a fool get money in the first place? I know some fools who have a lot of money, but they won't tell me how they got it, and I won't tell them. ~ George Burns

Almost everyone stopped when he did, but Enaila and Jalani exchanged glances and kept on right past him toward the garden. He raised his voice a fraction and hardened it considerably more. "The Maidens here will come with me. Anyone who wants to put on a dress and discuss matchmaking can stay behind."
..................................
Bashere motioned, and one of the younger Saldaeans loped ahead in that rolling stride of a man more used to a saddle. "A man must know when to retreat from a woman," Bashere said to the air, "but a wise man knows that sometimes he must stand and face her."

"Young men," Bael said indulgently. "A young man chases shadows and runs from moonlight, and in the end he stabs himself in the foot with his own spear." Some of the other Aiel chuckled, Maidens and Knife Hands alike. The older ones did.

Irritated, Rand looked over his shoulder again. "Neither of you would look well in a dress." Surprisingly, the Maidens and Knife Hands laughed again, more loudly. Maybe he was getting a grip on Aiel humor. ~ Robert Jordan

A wise man tried to avoid battles he would not only lose, but look foolish losing. ~ Robert Jordan

A wise man sings his joy in the closet of his heart. ~ Tibullus

A wise man travels to discover himself. ~ James Russell Lowell

As long as you live, you will be subject to change, whether you will it or not - now glad, now sorrowful; now pleased, now displeased; now devout, now undevout; now vigorous, now slothful; now gloomy, now merry. But a wise man who is well taught in spiritual labor stands unshaken in all such things, and heeds little what he feels, or from what side the wind of instability blows. ~ Thomas A Kempis

Any one can give advice, such as it is, but only a wise man knows how to profit by it. ~ Charles Caleb Colton

A wise man who has the moment in his hand should not let that moment slip. ~ Louis Farrakhan

They say a wise man learns from others mistakes, I learn from others success, why pay attention to the mistakes? ~ Behdad Sami

There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is still wiser who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolut ~ William E. Gladstone

Your father says a wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountaintop. ~ Deborah Harkness

Bewilderment is often the child of the ignorance! If you are bewildered to some things, it means that you are not yet a wise man! ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise man to be able to sell it. ~ Samuel Butler

A wise man never makes an enemy of a king. ~ George R R Martin

I'm going to tell you something that a wise man once told me: it's not the darkness that's terrifying, it's what you might find in it. I was always afraid of the dark as a child, afraid monsters would sneak into my room at night, but now I know there's nothing to fear. Not because monsters don't exist. They do. I've seen them. I've encountered them. One attacked me as I slept. I even became one myself afterward. No, the reason there's nothing to fear in the dark is because real monsters lurk in the light, too. They hide in plain sight. The trick is to find them before they can get you. I'm not a good man. I'm not. I know...I've learned my lesson. I find peace in the darkness sometimes now. I find peace with her. I'll never forget, but she makes me feel like it's okay to remember. It's okay to remember the pain and fear. It's okay to admit the darkness terrified me. Because I found some light in it. I found her. ~ J.M. Darhower

Once I made weapons carved from stone, I tied the weight to a wooden handle, a club to break the bones of my enemy.

Then I became wiser...
and sharpened the stone to a point and then fastened it to a stick; my arrow. I bent wood and hitched string to it; my bow. I kill my enemy with skill

Then I became wiser...
and made weapons forged from steel and took care to sharpen the blade of my sword. I kill my enemy with a stroke.

Then I became wiser...
and made the rifle that would, by exploding gunpowder, shoot balls of lead faster than the eye could see. I kill my enemy with but the pull of a trigger.

Then I became wiser...
and I built flying machine that could transport bombs to drop over the homes of my enemy. I kill my enemy from the sky.

Then I became wiser...
and created the drone, now I can guide a plane by remote control from one country and kill my enemy in another. I am a proficient killer

Then I became wiser...
and I found a way to split the atom and found the power of God hidden within. I kill the ground, scorch the sky, pollute the wind and kill my enemy with the push of a button.

Then I became wiser...
And I found that there is nothing more foolish than a "Wise Man of War ~ Tonny K. Brown

...they are able to forgive themselves, as a wise man once said, for being human. That is knowing that life is hard and virtue rare, they keep the ancient faith that it is better to love than to hate, to live fully even if imperfectly. ~ Charles Van Doren

His eyes drifted leisurely back up to my face and he smiled at me appreciatively, "Kelsey, when a man spends time with a beautiful woman, he needs to pace himself. I quirked my eyebrow at him and laughed. "Yeah, I'm a regular marathon alright." He kissed my fingers. "Exactly. A wise man never sprints ... in a marathon. ~ Colleen Houck

A wise man could not be insulted, since truth could not insult and untruth was not worthy of notice. ~ Robert A. Heinlein

Did they like being maids & butlers? Before you answer this consider everything you've ever read about English history after Robin Hood and before he Who. Your choices were: serving, being served, being killed by Jack the Ripper. So, the employee class made the best of it and got with the program. It was indoor work, after all. And as a wise man once observed, "You're gonna hafta serve somebody." (Bob Dylan, C. 1497-1580). And it beat mining. ~ Chris Kelly

The tongue of a fool is the key of his counsel, which, in a wise man, wisdom hath in keeping. ~ Socrates

No one ever on seeing Mr Crawley took him to be a happy man, or a weak man, or an ignorant man, or a wise man. ~ Anthony Trollope

Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

A wise man once said nothing. ~ Anonymous

A wise man should so write (though in words understood by all men) that wise men only should be able to commend him. ~ Thomas Hobbes

A wise man will always allow a fool to rob him of ideas without yelling "Thief."
If he is wise he has not been impoverished.
Nor has the fool been enriched.
The thief flatters us by stealing.
We flatter him by complaining. ~ Ben Hecht

As the wise say, a sensible man looks after his garden, and a coward looks after his money; a just man cares about his city and a crazy man cares about the government; and a wise man studies the thickness of fern-fronds. ~ Angélica Gorodischer

One Must Choose Among Both Parties Either To Be A Wise Man That Die To Live In Righteousness And Blissfulness For Eternity Or Be A Foolish Man That Lives To Die For Vanity. ~ Baba Tunde Ojo-Olubiyo

Wisdom is considered a sign of weakness by the powerful because a wise man can lead without power but only a powerful man can lead without wisdom. ~ Mark B. Cohen

Logic is a large drawer, containing some useful instruments, and many more that are superfluous. A wise man will look into it for two purposes, to avail himself of those instruments that are really useful, and to admire the ingenuity with which those that are not so, are assorted and arranged. ~ Charles Caleb Colton

Wine turns the wise man into a fool and the fool into a wise man. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A wise man once told me that a person can do anything once they realize they're apart of something bigger. It's taken me awhile to understand that. For years, I was just a face in the crowd, a history teacher who spread HYDRA's lies. They seemed to imposing for any one person to fight. But now, I'm choosing to stand up, to become apart of something bigger. I really do believe that together, we can accomplish anything. Because the truth is, I'm not just a history teacher. My name is Phil Coulson, and I'm an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. ~ Phil Coulson

The only difference between a wise man and a fool was in the magnitude of his mistakes. To err was human, and the smarter and more powerful you were, the greater the scope of your screwup. ~ Tom Clancy

Part of living, part of becoming a wise man or a wise woman, is to get to that point where you can have a friend for whom you are genuinely happy when he or she has a success. That's tough. Very few people get to that point. With writers it's next to impossible. You can't really bless a writer who's as good as yourself. ~ Norman Mailer

There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for. ~ Robin Williams

The only thing history teaches us, a wise man once said, is that history doesn't teach us anything. ~ Michael Lewis

A wise man once said that next to losing its mother, there is nothing more healthy for a child than to lose its father. ~ Halldor Laxness

Adam went to bed comforted, having woven for himself an ingenious web of probabilities - the surest screen a wise man can place between himself and the truth. His ~ George Eliot

A fool learns nothing from a wise man; but a wise man learns from a fool. ~ Gautama Buddha

The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing. ~ Epictetus

Out of all those centuries the Greeks can count seven sages at the most, and if anyone looks at them more closely I swear he'll not find so much as a half-wise man or even a third of a wise man among them. ~ Desiderius Erasmus

Come, Adam, a wise man does not step betwixt the beast & his meat. ~ David Mitchell

These are the signs of a wise man: to reprove nobody, to praise nobody, to blame nobody, nor even to speak of himself or his own merits. ~ Epictetus

Let me be straight with you: I'm not really qualified to write this book. I don't have a Bible or seminary degree. I'm not a pastor or a counselor. I don't know biblical languages and don't know how to do exegesis - whatever that even is. Again, I'm just a messed-up twenty-three-year-old guy. But I know that God has quite the sense of humor. It only takes a quick peek into Christian history to realize I'm almost the exact type of person he is looking for. A wise man two thousand years ago put it this way: "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong."1 Paul tells us that God loves using people who are useless by worldly standards - because then he gets all the credit. A crooked stick can still draw a straight line, and a messed-up dude like me can still write about an awesome God. I've tasted grace and can't help but tell others about it. ~ Jefferson Bethke

The fool wanders, a wise man travels. ~ Thomas Fuller

A wise man should never resolve upon anything, at least, never let the world know his resolution, for if he cannot reach that he is ashamed. ~ John Selden

You are a wise man, Major, and I will consider your advice with great care - and humility." He finished his tea and rose from the table to go to his room. "But I must ask you, do you really understand what it means to be in love with an unsuitable woman?"
"My dear boy," said the Major. "Is there really any other kind? ~ Helen Simonson

A wise man will see to it that his acts always seem voluntary and not done by compulsion, however much he may be compelled by necessity. ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

Money is not the master but the slave of a wise man. ~ Debasish Mridha

Love is wonderful, magical, and beautiful, but it can also be maddening, damaging, and dangerous,: she said. "It blinds us more than anything. It makes us selfish, it makes us feel like nothing else matters, and it tricks us into thinking the rest of the world doesn't exist - but it does exist. Whether you're on the high or low side of love, the world always moves on."
"So you're saying love is a weakness?" Arthur asked.
"That depends on you," Mother Goose said. "There's a reason we've got hearts and brains - we're supposed to listen to them both. A good man follows his heart, but a wise man follows his heart without ignoring his brain. Finding the right balance is one of the hardest parts of life. ~ Chris Colfer

A wise man once told me, "As a man, you have to die once in order to live." I never fully appreciated his advice, nor did I understand it until I experienced it firsthand. From that time on, I understood the origins of the Jerk vs. Nice Guy battle. Readers may be asking themselves, "What in the world is this guy talking about?" Well, I'm referring to the widely known fact that women habitually date men that are jerks while the "nice" guys are often left twiddling their thumbs in solitaire. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Figuratively speaking, in order for a man to enjoy the company of women and be able to seduce them, his inner nice guy must first die through heartache. It is at this point that his inner bad boy surfaces and goes on the prowl. ~ Glenn Geher

A wise man once said that any human being is capable of infinite achievement, so long as it's not the work they're supposed to be doing. ~ K.J. Parker

The mountains had their own time, and a wise man did not try to hurry them. ~ Diana Gabaldon

When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again. ~ William Shakespeare

A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. ~ Confucius

Quiet and sincere sympathy is often the most welcome and efficient consolation to the afflicted. Said a wise man to one in deep sorrow, I did not come to comfort you; God only can do that; but I did come to say how deeply and tenderly I feel for you in your affliction. ~ Tryon Edwards

A wise man changes his mind sometimes, but a fool never. To change your mind is the best evidence you have one. ~ Desmond Ford

If it be true that a man is rich who wants nothing, a wise man is a very rich man. ~ Jean De La Bruyere

Hakeem: A wise man once said that suffering produces perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Andre: Since when did spouting masochism make one wise? And the sacraments of a bitter existence? Who deemed that a vaunted prize? Nihilistic philosophy only births more pain. It's fruitless to espouse folly, repackage it as wisdom, and spew it in a wise man's name. ~ Booker T. Mattison

The proper study of a wise man is not how to die but how to live. ~ Baruch Spinoza