A word to the wise is infuriating.

Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.

Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.

As president, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people. But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and the life experiences that make you who you are.

It is said that the present is pregnant with the future.

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.

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.

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.

There is nothing makes a man suspect much, more than to know little.

As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill.

Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy the mad daughter of a wise mother. These daughters have too long dominated the earth.

The person who doesn’t scatter the morning dew will not comb gray hairs.

There is no sin except stupidity.

Common sense is the genius of humanity.

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.

No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.

I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.

Everything deep is also simple and can be reproduced simply as long as its reference to the whole truth is maintained. But what matters is not what is witty but what is true.

I learned a long time ago that reality was much weirder than anyone’s imagination.

Great and good are seldom the same man.

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

All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.

Knowledge is power.

I give opinions, not advice.

One whose knowledge is confined to books and whose wealth is in the possession of others, can use neither his knowledge nor wealth when the need for them arises.

Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.

Gain may be temporary and uncertain; but ever while you live, expense is constant and certain: and it is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel.

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

Youth is wasted on the young.

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information.

Don’t throw stones at your neighbors if your own windows are glass.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The Nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.

Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.

I know love is the answer.

God has already done everything He’s going to do. The ball is now in your court. If you want success, if you want wisdom, if you want to be prosperous and healthy, you’re going to have to do more than meditate and believe; you must boldly declare words of faith and victory over yourself and your family.

If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

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

I still derive immense pleasure from remembering how many hod-carrying brickies were encouraged to put on lurex tights and mince up and down the high street, having been assured by know-it-alls like me that a smidgen of blusher really attracted the birds.

It’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.

Experience never errs; it is only your judgments that err by promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your experiments.

Sometimes the poor are praised for being thrifty. But to recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less.

Wisdom is found only in truth.

Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today.

Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

He who possesses art and science has religion; he who does not possess them, needs religion.

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.

When we turn to one another for counsel we reduce the number of our enemies.

Light troubles speak; the weighty are struck dumb.

I just get annoyed at myself. A lot of swearing goes on generally when I am driving.

Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

The best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

If I can give you one strong piece of advice, when you go away for that romantic weekend, whatever you do, do not accept or take the upgrade to the honeymoon suite.

There are truths which are not for all men, nor for all times.

How do you know what it’s like to be stupid if you’ve never been smart?

Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.

All my life I’ve been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old.