I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.

Men blaspheme what they do not know.

Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant.

I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active – not more happy – nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.

What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.

I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know.

I’m sure a lot of people out there make mistakes.

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.

The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness.

I went to a lovely school, and I got an incredible education. And I actually think that my education is what really sets me apart, ‚cause I’m very smart.

You have learnt something. That always feels at first as if you had lost something.

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

There is no darkness but ignorance.

Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple.

Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.

The unsuccessful person is burdened by learning, and prefers to walk down familiar paths. Their distaste for learning stunts their growth and limits their influence.

The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.

Childhood is the sleep of reason.

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it’s not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the three pillars of learning.

It is the heart always that sees, before the head can see.

To suffer the penalty of too much haste, which is too little speed.

To keep your secret is wisdom; but to expect others to keep it is folly.

All the learnin‘ my father paid for was a bit o‘ birch at one end and an alphabet at the other.

Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history.

I’m too busy acting like I’m not Naive. I’ve seen it all, I was here first.

Does wisdom perhaps appear on the earth as a raven which is inspired by the smell of carrion?

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

Knowledge of human nature is the beginning and end of political education.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Take care to sell your horse before he dies. The art of life is passing losses on.

Where sense is wanting, everything is wanting.

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.

I am a part of everything that I have read.

One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.

On the ‚Star,‘ you were forced to learn to write a simple declarative sentence. This is useful to anyone. Newspaper work will not harm a young writer and could help him if he gets out of it in time.

Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.

Before a man speaks it is always safe to assume that he is a fool. After he speaks, it is seldom necessary to assume it.

The deed is everything, the glory is naught.

A professor must have a theory as a dog must have fleas.

Happy is the hearing man; unhappy the speaking man.

Judges ought to be more leaned than witty, more reverent than plausible, and more advised than confident. Above all things, integrity is their portion and proper virtue.

The knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him.

To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.

There is nothing which we receive with so much reluctance as advice.

Without tact you can learn nothing.

There is, so I believe, in the essence of everything, something that we cannot call learning. There is, my friend, only a knowledge – that is everywhere.

Studies serve for delight, for ornaments, and for ability.

If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.

Between falsehood and useless truth there is little difference. As gold which he cannot spend will make no man rich, so knowledge which cannot apply will make no man wise.

The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is. For to a degree, people read the press to inform themselves – and the better the teacher, the better the student body.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last.

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.

We’re in the last days, man – I truly, in my heart, believe that. It’s written. I could go on with biblical situations and things my grandma told me. But it’s about being at peace with myself and making good with the people around me.

Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the letters in which it is composed.

The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.