75 Words of Wisdom From The Best Minds (Ever)

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, powerful, and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

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I’ve spent 10+ hours doing one thing:

Curate the wisest words from Einstein, Buddha, Seneca, Socrates, Emerson, Plato, and many more.

So here’s a list of THE top 75 words of wisdom ever written.

Why should you read this article?

Because:

You’ll learn how to be calmer and wiser
You’ll learn how to live a good and meaningful life
You’ll discover condensed wisdom from the best thinkers of the last 2000 years

In sum, you’ll gain precious insights in just 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life. Immanuel Kant

Doubt is the origin of wisdom. Augustine of Hippo

The truest wisdom is a resolute determination. Napoleon Bonaparte

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

A symptom of wisdom is curiosity. The evidence is calmness and perseverance. The causes are experimentation and understanding. Maxime Lagacé

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

A fool is known by his speech; and a wise man by silence. Pythagoras

words of wisdom foolishness twin sister withold gombrowicz wisdom

Foolishness is a twin sister of wisdom. Witold Gombrowicz

There is only a finger’s difference between a wise man and a fool. Diogenes

Never say no twice if you mean it. Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves. Buddha

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

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

Everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait. Leo Tolstoy

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. Leonard Nimoy

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens. Jimi Hendrix

words of wisdom silence sleep nourishes wisdom francis bacon wisdom

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. Francis Bacon

A weak reaction is to rush things. A strong reaction is to go slow and steady. Maxime Lagacé

The best words are the ones you are ready for. 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

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 wise know they are fools. Fools think they are wise. Maxime Lagacé

Discipline is wisdom and vice versa. M. Scott Peck

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato

Wisdom is knowing when you can’t be wise. Paul Engle

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences. Norman Cousins

Wisdom and deep intelligence require an honest appreciation of mystery. Thomas Moore

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

Wisdom is keeping a sense of fallibility of all our views and opinions. Gerald Brenan

Much wisdom often goes with fewest words. Sophocles

words of wisdom wisdom generous contentious zhuangzi wisdom

Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious. Zhuangzi

Who then is free? The wise man who can command himself. Horace

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

True wisdom is remembering that in the end, no matter what, everything will be fine. Maxime Lagacé

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

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. Plutarch

Related

The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. Michel de Montaigne

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

Knowledge shrinks as wisdom grows. Alfred North Whitehead

If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise. William Blake

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

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He that composes himself is wiser than he that composes a book. Benjamin Franklin

Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another. Juvenal

Pain is the doorway to wisdom and to truth. Keith Miller

Kindness is wisdom. Philip James Bailey

Maturity is when you stop being surprised by anything. Wisdom is when you start again. Maxime Lagacé

I prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of wisdom. Anatole France

The wise are those who know the Self. Sri Sathya Sai Baba

No man was ever wise by chance. Seneca

Wisdom begins in wonder. Socrates

One part of wisdom is knowing what you don’t need anymore and letting it go. Jane Fonda

Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom. Terry Pratchett

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

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

words of wisdom now future you thank you maxime lagace wisdom

Do now what your future you will thank you for. Maxime Lagacé

Genius unrefined resembles a flash of lightning, but wisdom is like the sun. Franz Grillparzer

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

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

A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men. Roal Dahl

Related: 40 Unconventional Pieces of Advice That Most People Ignore (calvinrosser.com)

Wisdom is knowing what to ignore. Shane Parrish (Source)

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? Think “experiences”. Try, fail, reflect, and learn.
Tools to become wise?
- Self-understanding
- Acceptance
- Discipline
- Meditation (mindful.org)

Key Takeaways

Further Readings (For Wisdom And Life Lessons)