“Man is disturbed not by things, but by the opinions he has of things.”
Wisdom Quotes
Glean insights from the greatest minds in history with timeless wisdom quotes. From Socrates to modern sages, these words offer guidance for living well.
1941 quotes · Page 1 of 81
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
“A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”
“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.”
“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.
“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”
“Wonder is the feeling of a philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.”
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
“Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.”
About wisdom quotes
This is the largest collection on the site, gathered from two and a half thousand years of people thinking carefully about how to live. It runs from Confucius, Lao Tzu and Socrates, through Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, to Mark Twain, Albert Einstein and Nelson Mandela.
What these quotes share is not a single philosophy but a habit of mind: patience, humility, and suspicion of easy answers. Socrates insisted that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Confucius defined knowledge as knowing the limits of what you know. Einstein called himself not especially talented, “only passionately curious.” Ancient sources are given in standard translations, and lines whose origin cannot be verified are clearly marked. Use the category links below to narrow the collection down to Stoic, deep or short quotes.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the oldest wisdom quote on this site?
- The sayings of Confucius (551–479 BC) and the Tao Te Ching attributed to Lao Tzu are among the oldest, followed closely by Socrates (c. 470–399 BC), whose words survive through Plato.
- Who said “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”?
- It comes from chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching, traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu.
- Why are some quotes marked as disputed?
- Many famous lines are credited to people who never said them. When we cannot trace a quote to its original source, we keep it only if it is widely known, and label it so you know.
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