By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder and chief editor of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm, peaceful and powerful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
I’ve spent 10+ hours doing one thing:
Curate the wisest words from Einstein, Buddha, Socrates, Emerson, Thoreau, Plato, Bruce Lee, and many more.
Here’s a list of THE top 100 words of wisdom ever written.
I guarantee you’ll find some insights from these amazing minds.
Enjoy!
Doubt is the origin of wisdom. Augustine of Hippo
The truest wisdom is a resolute determination. Napoleon Bonaparte
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. Immanuel Kant
Foolishness is a twin sister of wisdom. Witold Gombrowicz
Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it. Albert Einstein

Wisdom is the power to put our time and our knowledge to the proper use. Thomas J. Watson
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. Seneca
A wise man never loses anything, if he has himself. Michel de Montaigne
Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. Francis Bacon
Discipline is wisdom and vice versa. M. Scott Peck

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Zhuangzi
Wisdom sails with wind and time. John Florio
A symptom of wisdom is curiosity. The evidence is calmness and perseverance. The causes are experimentation and understanding. Maxime Lagacé
A fool is known by his speech; and a wise man by silence. Pythagoras
The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. Michel de Montaigne
Related
- 150 Buddha Quotes And Buddhist Quotes
- 135 Rumi Quotes On Love, Beauty, Friendship
- Albert Einstein Quotes On Life, Education, Humanity
The Best Words of Wisdom
The fool wonders, the wise man asks. Benjamin Disraeli
There is only a finger’s difference between a wise man and a fool. Diogenes
Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. Jimi Hendrix
Never say no twice if you mean it. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Wisdom is nothing but a preparation of the soul, a capacity, a secret art of thinking, feeling and breathing thoughts of unity at every moment of life. Hermann Hesse
Everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait. Leo Tolstoy
Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves. Buddha
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. Leonard Nimoy
A lot of wisdom is just realizing the long-term consequences of your actions. The longer term you’re willing to look, the wiser you’re going to seem to everybody around you. Naval Ravikant
A weak reaction is to rush things. A strong reaction is to go slow and steady. Maxime Lagacé
We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us. Marcel Proust
The best words are the ones you are ready for. Maxime Lagacé
Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself. Kahlil Gibran
Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children. Kahlil Gibran
A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit. David Elton Trueblood
The motto of chivalry is also the motto of wisdom; to serve all, but love only one. Honoré de Balzac
The wise know they are fools. Fools think they are wise. Maxime Lagacé
Maturity is when you stop being surprised by anything. Wisdom is when you start again. Maxime Lagacé
Wisdom and deep intelligence require an honest appreciation of mystery. Thomas Moore
The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato
What Is Wisdom?
Wisdom is knowing when you can’t be wise. Paul Engle
Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. Norman Cousins
Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two. John Cheever
The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man are those of bearing and forbearing. Epictetus
Wisdom and understanding can only become the possession of individual men by travelling the old road of observation, attention, perseverance, and industry. Samuel Smiles
Wisdom is keeping a sense of fallibility of all our views and opinions. Gerald Brenan
Much wisdom often goes with fewest words. Sophocles
Part 2. Words of Wisdom That Are…
Inspirational Words of Wisdom
He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes a book. Benjamin Franklin
Fast thinking looks cool but it’s deep thinking that makes all the difference. And deep thinking is always slow thinking. @TheAncientSage
Who then is free? The wise man who can command himself. Horace
He who would begun has half done. Dare to be wise; begin. Horace
Man is wise and constantly in quest of more wisdom; but the ultimate wisdom, which deals with beginnings, remains locked in a seed. There it lies, the simplest fact of the universe and at the same time the one which calls forth faith rather than reason. Hal Borland
One part of wisdom is knowing what you don’t need anymore and letting it go. Jane Fonda
Do now what your future you will thank you for. Maxime Lagacé
First of all, to understand truth you must stand alone, entirely and wholly alone. No Master, no teacher, no guru, no system, no self-discipline will ever lift for you the veil which conceals wisdom. Wisdom is the understanding of enduring values and the living of those values. No one can lead you to wisdom. Jiddu Krishnamurti
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The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Paulo Coelho (Source)
Men who know themselves are no longer fools. They stand on the threshold of the door of wisdom. Havelock Ellis
Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as knowing what to do next. Herbert Hoover
The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself a fool. Anatole France
Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. Plutarch
True wisdom is remembering that in the end, no matter what, everything will be fine. Maxime Lagacé
It’s better to be alone than to spend time with toxic people. It’s better to do nothing than to work on something that doesn’t matter. It’s better to rest than to climb the wrong mountain. James Clear
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise. William Blake
Related: 100 Positive Quotes That Will Make Your Day Wonderful
Short Words of Wisdom
One-liners, short words of wisdom, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
Knowledge shrinks as wisdom grows. Alfred North Whitehead
The more you know the less you say. Sahil Lavingia (Source)
Don’t try to become, let go of who you’re not. Maxime Lagacé
The truest sayings are paradoxical. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. Alfred Lord Tennyson
One principle eliminates a thousand decisions. Johnny Uzan
Wisdom comes by disillusionment. George Santayana
Wisdom has never made a bigot, but learning has. Josh Billings
Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another. Juvenal
The wisest of the wise may err. Aeschylus
Pain is the doorway to wisdom and to truth. Keith Miller
I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom. Anatole France
No man was ever wise by chance. Seneca
Wisdom is knowledge which has become a part of one’s being. Orison Swett Marden
Kindness is wisdom. Philip James Bailey
Wisdom begins in wonder. Socrates
Wisdom outweighs any wealth. Sophocles
The wise are those who know the Self. Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Related: 117 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (Fast)
Deep Words of Wisdom
I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom. Terry Pratchett
The wise man belongs to all countries, for the home of a great soul is the whole world. Democritus
For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else. Ralph Waldo Emerson
The best words of wisdom will create confusion, action, understanding and ultimately, peace. Maxime Lagacé
If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Cleverness is like a lens with a very sharp focus. Wisdom is more like a wide-angle lens. Edward de Bono
It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. Mahatma Gandhi
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. Dakota (Native American saying)
Has fortune dealt you some bad cards. Then let wisdom make you a good gamester. Francis Quarles
The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Genius unrefined resembles a flash of lightning, but wisdom is like the sun. Franz Grillparzer
Wisdom is knowing what to ignore. Shane Parrish (Source)
A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men. Roal Dahl
Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know. Leo Tolstoy
Wisdom is seeing wounds and obstacles as blessings. Maxime Lagacé
Innocence dwells with wisdom, but never with ignorance. William Blake
It’s wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. J. R. R. Tolkien
The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable. Rabindranath Tagore
Wisdom is the knowledge of good and evil, not the strength to choose between the two. John Cheever
Words should be weighed, not counted. Yiddish proverb
Related: The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living (Amazon book)
Conclusion
Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. William A. Ward
Key Takeaways
- Wise people prefer
- Questions over answers
- Listening over talking
- Doubts over confidence
- Wise people don’t care about
- rewards
- criticism
- what they don’t control
- Keep in mind: life is chaos. Being a little foolish can help.
- Want to become wiser? Forget schooling. Fail, reflect and learn instead.
- Tools to become wise?
- Discipline
- Acceptance
- Meditation (mindful.org)
Further Readings (For Wisdom And Life Lessons)
- Topic: Life
- 83 Life Quotes To Transform Your Life Today
- 100 Stoic Quotes For A Wiser Perspective On Life
- 115 Philosophy Quotes From The Best Philosophers
- 77 Life Lessons Quotes (To Learn And Grow)
- 7 Secrets Of Wise People (huffingtonpost.ca)
- 87 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think
- 155 Of The Most Famous Quotes Of All Time
- The Power Of Words – 3 Ways They Can Change Your Life
- 21 Life-Changing Questions To Ask Yourself Today
Hope you enjoyed these beautiful words of wisdom. If you did, please share them with a friend today!
Do you consider yourself wise? What are your favorite words of wisdom? Please let us know in the comment section below!
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Quotes
What Is Wisdom?
Part 2
Words of Wisdom That ARE
Short
Inspirational
Deep
Part 3
Conclusion