Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice.

If a man writes a book, let him set down only what he knows. I have guesses enough of my own.

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.

Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.

The higher a man stands, the more the word vulgar becomes unintelligible to him.

Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men; but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.

I have lived long enough both in years and in accomplishments.

Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven’t committed.

Who sows virtue reaps honor.

My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don’t need another plaque.

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.

No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding.

It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.

My lectures, based on Islamic teachings, were on various subjects. Some of the titles were, ‚The Intoxication of Life,‘ ‚The Purpose of Life,‘ ‚The Real Cause of Man’s Distress,‘ ‚The Journey to the Goal in Life,‘ and, one of my favorites, ‚The Heart of Man.‘ They contained important insights that spoke to something deep inside me.

No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.

To reform a world, to reform a nation, no wise man will undertake; and all but foolish men know, that the only solid, though a far slower reformation, is what each begins and perfects on himself.

Knowledge slowly builds up what Ignorance in an hour pulls down.

The wisest have the most authority.

The deed is everything, the glory is naught.

A witty saying proves nothing.

Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom.

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

How prone to doubt, how cautious are the wise!

As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value than a much smaller amount if you have not thought it over for yourself.

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

Satan is wiser now than before, and tempts by making rich instead of poor.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.

The union of the Word and the Mind produces that mystery which is called Life… Learn deeply of the Mind and its mystery, for therein lies the secret of immortality.

A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.

As far as I’m concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue.

Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

Wise men make more opportunities than they find.

A man can’t be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

His priority did not seem to be to teach them what he knew, but rather to impress upon them that nothing, not even… knowledge, was foolproof.

Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

Step with care and great tact, and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act.

Error is always more busy than truth.

Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.

Never pray for justice, because you might get some.

Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination.

A fool is wise in his eyes.

Do not ask for what you will wish you had not got.

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values – that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.

A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.

He who is not just is severe, he who is not wise is sad.

If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

At seventy-seven it is time to be in earnest.

Surely wisdom will come as we listen to learn from children, parents, partners, neighbors, Church leaders, and the Lord.

He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.

No man can reveal to you nothing but that which already lies half-asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.

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

First and last, what is demanded of genius is love of truth.

In those days he was wiser than he is now; he used to frequently take my advice.

Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.

Regrets are the natural property of grey hairs.