"Wise man" Quotes from Famous Books
 ... as well as we know Johnson, as we know no other two men, perhaps, in the history of the world. It cannot be denied {40} that, when we put his great book down, it is not very easy to follow Sir Walter Raleigh in talking of him as a wise man, or even as a wiser man than Macaulay. If Boswell and Macaulay were put into competition in a prize for wisdom, no ordinary examiners would give it to Boswell. By the only tests they could apply, ...
— Dr. Johnson and His Circle • John Bailey
... Killbuck a'thegither neither, and I am sure it is as vexing to me as to you, Elshie, that the mischance should hae happened; but I'll send you twa goats and twa fat gimmers, man, to make a' straight again. A wise man like you shouldna bear malice against a poor dumb thing; ye see that a goat's like first-cousin to a deer, sae he acted but according to his nature after a'. Had it been a pet-lamb, there wad hae been mair to be said. Ye suld keep sheep, Elshie, ...
— The Black Dwarf • Sir Walter Scott
... in that school for the master, who was a good and wise man, to mark down in his pocketbook all the events of the week, that he might turn them to some account in his Sunday evening instructions: such as any useful story in the newspaper, any account of boys being drowned as they ...
— Stories for the Young - Or, Cheap Repository Tracts: Entertaining, Moral, and Religious. Vol. VI. • Hannah More
... with them, and the rather for that we shall minister some cause of impediment by a kind of dealing underhand, then shall they be forced to return into the hands of Spain, which is like to breed such a present peril towards her Majesty's self, as never a wise man that seeth it, and loveth her, but lamenteth it from the ...
— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley
... continued with her crystal gaze on this wise man from the East, struggling to get his viewpoint. There flashed into her mind the thought that perhaps, when she knew him better, he could help her on the ...
— Lydia of the Pines • Honore Willsie Morrow
... God some I have endured, some I have repelled, and by mine own valour overcome: courage was never wanting to my designs, nor industry to my intents: prosperity or adversity could never alter my disposition." A wise man's mind, as Seneca holds, [3824] "is like the state of the world above the moon, ever serene." Come then what can come, befall what may befall, infractum invictumque [3825] animum opponas: Rebus angustis ...
— The Anatomy of Melancholy • Democritus Junior
... his demands, to which Jerry replied: "You said just now, chief, that I was a wise man; but it seems that you must regard ...
— In The Heart Of The Rockies • G. A. Henty
... among ourselves, How to misbehave ourselves to the king's worship, Jesus bless him! and when he comes, to deliver him this petition, I think the Smith were best to do it, for he's a wise man. ...
— A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI • Robert Dodsley
... you,' it said; 'you aren't any more good than so many stone images. Not so much, if I'm to tell the truth. Is there no wise man in your Babylon who can pronounce the names of ...
— The Story of the Amulet • E. Nesbit
... have to let him decide that for you. He's a strong man—and a wise man. He'll judge what's right. And I ought to warn you that he'll be here probably—very soon. ...
— The Case of Richard Meynell • Mrs. Humphry Ward
... A wise man was once asked, "What is the most valuable improvement ever made in agriculture?" He answered, "Drainage." Often soils unfit for crop-production because they contain too much water are by drainage rendered the most valuable ...
— Agriculture for Beginners - Revised Edition • Charles William Burkett
... Well, he's Nikola, and that's all I can tell you. If you're a wise man you'll want to know no more. Ask the Chinese mothers nursing their almond-eyed spawn in Peking who he is; ask the Japanese, ask the Malays, the Hindoos, the Burmese, the coal porters in Port Said, the Buddhist priests of Ceylon; ask the ...
— A Bid for Fortune - or Dr. Nikola's Vendetta • Guy Boothby
... a wise man who said that we hate our enemies less for the harm they have done us than for the harm we have done them. Priya was not content with depriving Nagendra of his dues; he resolved to injure him more materially. ...
— Tales of Bengal • S. B. Banerjea
... adherent of this school. On most points however, although eclectic, he agreed with the Peripatetics, but with a decided leaning toward the Stoic ethical system. The Stoic opinion that it is the duty of the wise man to abstain from public life, which the Peripatetics contested, Cicero decisively rejected. With the Epicureans he had absolutely no sympathy. Up to this time these schools and their teachings were known to the Romans only through the medium of the Greek. ...
— Cato Maior de Senectute • Marcus Tullius Cicero
... heart with rapture stealing, And by a mystic impulse, to my soul, The powers of nature all around revealing. Am I a god? What light intense In these pure symbols do I see Nature exert her vital energy? Now of the wise man's words I learn the sense; "Unlock'd the spirit-world is lying, Thy sense is shut, thy heart is dead! Up scholar, lave, with zeal undying, Thine earthly breast in ...
— The German Classics of The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, • Editor-in-Chief: Kuno Francke
... sentiment, and when you have closed the bargain, lie down upon your possessions and go to sleep. Tell the old man that he is a fool for going away, but tell him also that I don't blame him for being a fool. Yes, sir, I love a fool, for it's the wise man that puts me to trouble. Give my warmest regards to that old woman. Let me tell you something: Many years ago I was a poor young fellow working about the court-house. And the clothes you've got on now are wedding garments compared with what mine were. Well, one day I stopped ...
— The Jucklins - A Novel • Opie Read
... cool breeze through all their singing stars. We need a St. Francis at present burningly. Is it possible to form a religious order of the poets? Here is an ideal. But it must be Franciscan: a gown, a girdle, and sandals, poverty, chastity, and obedience. Where is the wise man to obey? I can believe that jewels are potent for good or evil, since they are condensed flame and a secret word lies hidden in each of their hearts. A day ...
— The Forgotten Threshold • Arthur Middleton
... Ellidagrim, and paid few visits to the farms around. Thorhall knew of Grettir through the relations which had been between their ancestors; indeed Grettir's name was well known throughout the country because of his exploits. Thorhall was a wise man and treated Grettir well, but did not want to keep him ...
— Grettir The Strong - Grettir's Saga • Unknown
... he? His boyhood was doubtless the happiest period of his life, and he is just staying with it like a wise man." ...
— The Spoilers of the Valley • Robert Watson
... from old Germany and Belgium, introduced into the markets of the world by one and the same commercial spirit; our Kamerun and their Congo—such a warm blaze of advantage has burned away many a hatred. The wise man wins as his friend the deadly foe whose skull he cannot split, and he will rather rule and allow to feast on exceptional dainties this still cold and shy new friend than lose potential well-wishers ...
— New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915 - April-September, 1915 • Various
... collected in the first place? In his Account of a Conversation concerning 'a Right Regulation of Governments for the Common Good of Mankind' (Edinburgh, 1704), p. 10, Sir Andrew Fletcher, of Saltoun, tells us the opinion of 'a very wise man,' that 'if a man were permitted to make all the ballads of a nation, he need not care who should make its laws.' A writer in the Spectator, no. 502, refers to a similar opinion as having been entertained in England ...
— The Shih King • James Legge
... science, horticulture, dancing, archery, every form of labourious amusement that the genius of man has invented. One of our modern sages has said that life would be tolerable but for its amusements. I am of that wise man's opinion. Fashionable festivities are my aversion. So I told Mabel frankly that I found my good spirits being crushed out of me by the weight of too much pleasure, and that I must come home to look after my farm. The dear old Duke recognised that duty immediately, and gave me all sorts ...
— Vixen, Volume II. • M. E. Braddon
... the wise man regard the faith which is in him. The highest truth he sees he will fearlessly utter; knowing that, let what may come of it, he is thus playing his right part in the world,—knowing that, if he can effect the change he aims at, well: if not, ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 108, October, 1866 • Various
... once hearing a wise man say that often "what cannot be said may be sung"; and I realized that it is equally true that much which would be awkward, or embarrassing, if said to a person, face to face, might be got to them in writing with impunity. This I found to be especially ...
— Sane Sex Life and Sane Sex Living • H.W. Long
... wise man came forward and said: "My question, most worshipful Effendi, is this: Where is the middle ...
— Miscellanea • Juliana Horatia Ewing
... pardon, assuring you that to my knowledge I haue not missed in the trueth of any thing. If you aske me what in my trauels I haue learned, I answere as a noble man of France did to the like demaund, Hoc vnum didici, mundi contemptum: and so concluding with the wise man in the booke of the Preacher, that all is vanitie, and one thing onely is necessarie, I take my leaue and commit you to the Almightie. From London ...
— The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, - and Discoveries of The English Nation, Volume 9 - Asia, Part 2 • Richard Hakluyt
... when they talked of the renewed desire to live producing fresh vitality, or whether the wise man knew best after all when he said that love is stronger than death, who can say? Anyway, the fact remained that Christopher responded—as he had ever responded—to Elisabeth's cry for help, and came back from the very gates of the grave at her bidding. ...
— The Farringdons • Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler
... said some very wise man and if there ever was a phrase that rang with truth this does. It means that the thought of success, the courage that comes with success, leads to more and more success. It means that the thinker of these thoughts is living in a clean, wholesome atmosphere along with those who are determined ...
— Laugh and Live • Douglas Fairbanks
... realized. Not the less are the plans we do make just as subject to overthrow as the plans of the most prolific and minute of projectors. It was long since Cosmo had made any, and the resolve with which he now fell asleep was as modest as wise man could well cherish; the morning nevertheless went differently from ...
— Warlock o' Glenwarlock • George MacDonald
... be another day," murmured Tanana from his lounging place. "The teacher is wrong. He makes that loud sound when school begins. The wise man says the teacher must not make that sound any more, for it will prevent our people ...
— Out of the Triangle • Mary E. Bamford
... strife so that the neighbours named the cottage after it. It made the woman very sad, so one evening she made up her mind to go and see the Wise Man of Llanidloes, for he knew everything and would advise her what ...
— Celtic Fairy Tales • Joseph Jacobs (coll. & ed.)
... the plight of the lady and gentleman at St. Albans who told the officer that their four children were just recovering from an attack of whooping cough. The officer, being a wise man and anxious about the welfare of those under his care, fled precipitately. Later he learned that there had been no whooping cough in the house; in fact, the people who caused him to beat such a hasty retreat were childless. He felt annoyed and discomfited; but about a week following his first ...
— The Amateur Army • Patrick MacGill
... "A wise man's addition," said Mr. Carleton; "but I trust you will not think me extravagant. I will hold myself much obliged to you, if you will let Mr. Thorn's folly, or impertinence, go ...
— Queechy, Volume II • Elizabeth Wetherell
... Honolulu, where I anticipate a devil of an awakening. It will be from a mighty pleasant dream at least: Tautira being mere Heaven. But suppose, for the sake of argument, any money to be left in the hands of my painful doer, what is to be done with it? Save us from exile would be the wise man's choice, I suppose; for the exile threatens to be eternal. But yet I am of opinion - in case there should be SOME dibs in the hand of the P.D., I.E. painful doer; because if there be none, I shall take to my flageolet on the high-road, and work home ...
— Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson - Volume 2 • Robert Louis Stevenson
... preponderating in his doctrine. He maintained the existence of one Being, the Good, having various aspects—Wisdom, God, Reason, and showed an inclination to the tendency afterward fully developed by the Cynical school in his dogma that the wise man should be insensible ...
— History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) - Revised Edition • John William Draper
... which no wise man ever reckons Healthy soul is only to be found in a healthy body Man is the standard of all things Persians never prayed for any particular blessing The immortal gods have set sweat before virtue Things you mean are only what they seem to us Would want some one else to ...
— Quotations From Georg Ebers • David Widger
... The wise man, having found that wisdom brought with it but increased sorrow, turns to the other side—to all those pleasures that the flesh, as we speak, enjoys. Still, he gives us, as in chap. i., the result of his search ...
— Old Groans and New Songs - Being Meditations on the Book of Ecclesiastes • F. C. Jennings
... in her gentle voice, "that Peter Reid was a wise man to leave his money to Jean. Only the people who have been poor know how to give, and Jean has imagination and an understanding heart. Haven't you noticed what a wonderful way she has with the poor people? She is always ...
— Penny Plain • Anna Buchan (writing as O. Douglas)
... devolves the task of informing you of the events which have taken place at Urbino. May this letter find you prepared for all the changes of life; a wise man will never suffer himself to be taken by surprise; this is true philosophy, and the only philosophy that can serve us! An epidemic has prevailed at Urbino, and has entered your paternal dwelling. Need I say more? Come to me, my son, at Perugia, for I am the only parent that remains ...
— Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 8 (of 8) • Various
... After those words there was a silence which Jewdwine, like the wise man he was, utilized ...
— The Divine Fire • May Sinclair
... saying that nothing is settled until it is settled right expresses only a half truth. Questions of general and permanent importance are seldom finally settled. A very wise man has said that "short of the multiplication table there is no truth and no fact which must not be proved over again as if it had never been proved, from time to time." Conceptions of social rights and obligations ...
— Experiments in Government and the Essentials of the Constitution • Elihu Root
... suppressed scorn). Friendship? Well well, I know thou art a wise man, Gunnar! Kare has met mighty friends, and well I woth thou ...
— The Vikings of Helgeland - The Prose Dramas Of Henrik Ibsen, Vol. III. • Henrik Ibsen
... that if we use "pea" and "dust" coal, an extremely thin layer must be used, or the 10 feet of air per foot of gas cannot pass through it; if "chestnut" coal be used, the thickness may be increased somewhat; "stove size" allows a thickness of six inches, and "lump" much thicker, if any wise man could be found who would use that coarse, uneconomical size. Of course, I am speaking of anthracite coal. Opinions differ about "soft coal," but the same general principle applies as regards an unobstructed passage of air through the hot bed ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886 • Various
... say that Christ was divested by some outside power; he says Christ "made himself" of no repute. Just so the wise man does not in a literal way lay aside wisdom and the appearance of wisdom, but discards them for the purpose of serving the simple-minded who might fittingly serve him. Such man makes himself of no reputation when he divests himself of his ...
— Epistle Sermons, Vol. II - Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost • Martin Luther
... of, was glad to accept the smallest commission, and sold mostly to American collectors. Nor is it otherwise with the Rousseaus, Millets, and Troyons of to-day—the public taste, and the banal criticism of a journalism at its best the tardy echo of the opinions of the rare wise man, find genius only when it has ceased to have the quality of ...
— The Autobiography of a Journalist, Volume I • Stillman, William James
... injurious to every thing lofty and high-toned in human Virtue, to every thing cheering, and consoling, and sublime in that Faith which sheds over this Earth a reflection of the heavens, is that memoir of a worldly-wise Man; in which he seems to contemplate with indifference the extinction of his own immortal soul, and jibes and jokes on the dim and awful verge ...
— Famous Reviews • Editor: R. Brimley Johnson
... Williams Jackson) Psalm of Zoroaster Prayer for Knowledge The Angel of Divine Obedience To the Fire The Goddess of the Waters Guardian Spirits An Ancient Sindbad The Wise Man Invocation to Rain Prayer for ...
— Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 3 • Various
... tales from box as now happen, and to Chinese all about standing, He say, "Do good deeds! Be of unselfishness! Have of others care!" One Chinese laugh and make large fun of Story Teller and say, "Why, O Wise Man, dost thou not perform goodnesses, thyself? Just now I pass over the Bridge of the Ten Thousand Ages and beside the stones of bridge I view babe of new birth. Go, thou, and take of it all care." To save his face the Story Teller went upon the bridge and took the babe unto ...
— Seven Maids of Far Cathay • Bing Ding, Ed.
... Christmas presents came, the straw where Christ was rolled Smelt sweeter than their frankincense, burnt brighter than their gold, And a wise man said, "We will not give; the thanks ...
— Poems • G.K. Chesterton
... the bishop, was a wise man; he drove out folly with folly. He knew well that no one had less reverence for the churches than those who have built ...
— Berlin and Sans-Souci • Louise Muhlbach
... there's his hold! If there were no more in excommunication than the church's censure, a wise man would lick his conscience whole with a wet finger; but, if I am excommunicated, I am outlawed, and then there is no calling in ...
— The Works of John Dryden, Vol. 6 (of 18) - Limberham; Oedipus; Troilus and Cressida; The Spanish Friar • John Dryden
... ordinary personage, although he happened now to be attired so humbly and to be journeying on foot. Not that Philemon fancied him a prince in disguise, or any character of that sort; but rather some exceedingly wise man, who went about the world in this poor garb, despising wealth and all worldly objects, and seeking everywhere to add a mite to his wisdom. This idea appeared the more probable, because, when Philemon raised his eyes to the stranger's face, he seemed to see more thought there, in one look, ...
— The Children's Hour, Volume 3 (of 10) • Various
... wise man, of the same kidney as the long-winded chap of the theory I've just explained, says that the gulf- weed in its natural and original state grows on the rocky islets and promontories of the Florida coast and that it is torn thence by ...
— The Ghost Ship - A Mystery of the Sea • John C. Hutcheson
... wise man's duty, O Clea,[FN259] to apply to the gods for every good thing which he hopes to enjoy, yet ought he more especially to pray to them for their assistance in his search after that knowledge which ...
— Legends Of The Gods - The Egyptian Texts, edited with Translations • E. A. Wallis Budge
... nae wise man neither, to interfere—no that I blame him for saving the gaugers' lives—that was very right; but it wasna like a gentleman to be fighting about the poor folk's pocks o' tea and brandy kegs—however, he's a grand man and an officer man, and they do what ...
— Guy Mannering • Sir Walter Scott
... knowledge implies certitude of judgment as stated above (A. 1), if this certitude of the judgment is derived from the highest cause, the knowledge has a special name, which is wisdom: for a wise man in any branch of knowledge is one who knows the highest cause of that kind of knowledge, and is able to judge of all matters by that cause: and a wise man "absolutely," is one who knows the cause which is absolutely highest, namely God. Hence the knowledge of Divine things is called "wisdom," ...
— Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) • Thomas Aquinas
... and by grief, His spotless life he passed, Till from worse scenes released by death, at last. O my Victorio, this was not for thee The fitting age, or land. Great souls congenial times and climes demand. In mere repose we live content, And vulgar mediocrity; The wise man sinks, the mob ascends, Till all at last in one dread level ends. Go on, thou great discoverer! Revive the dead, since all the living sleep! Dead tongues of ancient heroes arm anew; Till this vile age a new ...
— The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi • Giacomo Leopardi
... spirit of these nice distinctions; it suits neither my taste nor my interest, and my house is, perhaps, the only one in Darien, where you would find all these opposite and contending elements combined.' The doctor is connected with the aristocracy of the place, and, like a wise man, remembers, notwithstanding, that those who are not, are quite as liable to be ill, and call in medical assistance, as those who are. He is a shrewd, intelligent man, with an excellent knowledge of his profession, much kindness of heart, and apparent cheerful good temper. I have already ...
— Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation - 1838-1839 • Frances Anne Kemble
... as a victim for the good of her country, was canonized by the Greeks, and worshipped as the Goddess of true Felicity. Goethe has embodied this Felicity as the Serenity that arises from Wisdom, a Wisdom such as the Jewish wise man venerated, alike instructed in the designs of heaven, and the methods necessary to carry them ...
— Woman in the Ninteenth Century - and Kindred Papers Relating to the Sphere, Condition - and Duties, of Woman. • Margaret Fuller Ossoli
... in his father's heart for his son who was quick to learn, thirsty for knowledge; he saw him growing up to become great wise man and priest, ...
— Siddhartha • Herman Hesse
... is there now," said Holgate, with a fat laugh. "And a wise man, too. I always betted on the little cockney's astuteness. But, doctor, if you don't hurry up, I fear ...
— Hurricane Island • H. B. Marriott Watson
... one knee. "The wise man gets rich and the fool stays poor. Do you want to be friends or do ...
— Foes • Mary Johnston
... was the fare elegant: milk, coffee, cereal, hard boiled eggs, bread, butter, a bruised apple. The milk was of two kinds, real and canned. Used in the coffee, or with sugar on the cereal, the canned milk was good enough as poured from a hole punched in the container; but a wise man near me prophesied that I should not like to drink it when diluted. Flat, he said. Tasted like chalk. Doubtless it was chemically correct, but (you see how scientific he was) the metabolism of the body despises ...
— At Plattsburg • Allen French
... a quiet time in the afternoon, and in order to verify my recollection of the wise man's saying, which was a little cloudy in my memory, I searched through Julia's Bible for it. I came across a passage which made me pause and consider. "Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting ...
— The Doctor's Dilemma • Hesba Stretton
... argues that human life in its origins knew no social order, that might ruled supreme. Then men conceived the idea of making laws in order that right might rule instead of might. The result of this was, it is true, that wrong was not done openly; but it was done secretly instead. Then a wise man bethought himself of making men believe that there existed gods who saw and heard everything which men did, nay even knew their innermost thoughts. And, in order that men might stand in proper awe of the gods, he said that they lived in the sky, out of which comes that ...
— Atheism in Pagan Antiquity • A. B. Drachmann
... was his surprise to find the house was built over the vault of an old church, and that the vault contained considerable treasure. The lucky proprietor found himself free to continue his trade of lemonade-vender and coffee-seller, or to live a life of ease. Being a wise man, he adhered to his original plan; and soon his luxurious rooms became the favorite rendezvous for the smart set of his day. In this period lemonade and coffee frequently went together. The Caffe Pedrocchi is ...
— All About Coffee • William H. Ukers
... friend will be remembered." But he had a rougher answer for me, when I commended a sermon preached by an intimate acquaintance of our own at the trading end of the town. "What was the subject, madam?" says Dr. Johnson. "Friendship, sir," replied I. "Why, now, is it not strange that a wise man, like our dear little Evans, should take it in his head to preach on such a subject, in a place where no one can be thinking of it?" "Why, what are they thinking upon, sir?" said I. "Why, the men are thinking on their money, I suppose, and the women ...
— Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. - during the last twenty years of his life • Hester Lynch Piozzi
... certain that Newman was right in his last observation. Practice and experience are absolutely necessary to fit a person for any station of life; and no wise man will ever wish to step into one for which he is not fitted by education or habit, or to associate with those with whom he has no ideas or associations in common. The great mistake numbers of well-intentioned people make, is the wish ...
— Old Jack • W.H.G. Kingston
... eyes with his hands. "He is a wise man and quick. Hitchcock Sahib would not trust a rowboat. He has borrowed the Rao Sahib's steam-launch, and comes to look for us. I have always said that there should have been a steam-launch on the ...
— Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II • Rudyard Kipling
... knowledge has passed onward, and men contaminate more than books? But," he continued in a lower voice, as if arguing with himself, "if power is only so to be won—and of what use is knowledge if it be not power—does not success in life justify all things? And who prizes the wise man if he fails?" He continued his way, but still the soft tranquillity around rebuked him, and still his reason was dissatisfied, as well as his conscience. There are times when Nature, like a bath of youth, seems to restore ...
— The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 5, No. 1, January, 1852 • Various
... A learned and wise man was the good bishop, but a valorous one as well, mighty in arms alike on horseback and on foot. "A boon, Cid don Rodrigo," he cried. "I have sung mass to you this morning. Let me have the giving of the first ...
— Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality - Volume VII • Charles Morris
... grand prince, do not censure me for my feeble words, for it is written, 'Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser.'[5] So may it be. Receive our benediction, you and your children, all the nobles and chieftains, and all your brave warriors, children of Jesus ...
— The Empire of Russia • John S. C. Abbott
... what you say is true; for then the world is but a vale of misery, and the wise man has but one resource— self-destruction! But pardon me, I have not offered you ...
— Joseph II. and His Court • L. Muhlbach
... "wise man" who is always called upon to select the resting place of the dead, his remuneration varying from two dollars to two thousand dollars according to the circumstances of the deceased's relatives. The astrologer never will say definitely whether or not the spot ...
— Camps and Trails in China - A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China • Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews
... "the Countryman," "Harlequin Countryman," "the Cattle-herd," "the Vinedresser," "the Fig- gatherer," "Woodcutting," "Pruning," "the Poultry-yard." In these pieces it was always the standing figures of the stupid and the artful servant, the good old man, the wise man, that delighted the public; the first in particular might never be wanting— the -Pulcinello- of this farce—the gluttonous filthy -Maccus-, hideously ugly and yet eternally in love, always on the point ...
— The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5) • Theodor Mommsen
... "It is a wise man who hath that which is his always within his hand, even as Moonspirit hath the soul of his favourite wife with him always, so that she may ...
— Witch-Doctors • Charles Beadle
... Agesilaus, what he thought most proper for boys to learn? Agitated betwixt hope and fear Agitation has usurped the place of reason Alexander said, that the end of his labour was to labour All actions equally become and equally honour a wise man All apprentices when we come to it (death) All defence shows a face of war All I aim at is, to pass my time at my ease All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice All judgments ...
— Quotes and Images From The Works of Michel De Montaigne • Michel De Montaigne
... the Skeptics. In them we seem to find a somewhat new conception of philosophy—philosophy appears as chiefly a guide to life. The Stoic emphasizes the necessity of living "according to nature," and dwells upon the character of the wise man; the Epicurean furnishes certain selfish maxims for getting through life as pleasantly as possible; the Skeptic counsels apathy, an indifference to all things,—blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall ...
— An Introduction to Philosophy • George Stuart Fullerton
... importance, and an invariable mark of good training in a man. Accuracy in observation, accuracy in speech, accuracy in the transaction of affairs. What is done in business must be well done; for it is better to accomplish perfectly a small amount of work, than to half-do ten times as much. A wise man used to say, "Stay a little, that we may ...
— Self Help • Samuel Smiles
... cared to listen. Niccolo da Correggio not only wrote sonnets and canzoni for her to sing but invented new patterns for her gowns; and Cristoforo Romano laid down the sculptor's chisel to play the lyre or viol for her pleasure. For her the wise man of Pavia, Lorenzo Gusnasco, fashioned cunningly wrought instruments, lutes and viols inlaid with ebony and ivory, and organs inscribed with Latin mottoes; and the wonderful tenor, Cordier, the priest of Louvain, sang his sweetest and most entrancing strains in the ducal chapel. For her amusement ...
— Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan, 1475-1497 • Julia Mary Cartwright
... dinner and then put on his top hat and took his best cherry wood walking stick. He could not see his wife anywhere; so like a wise man he began walking down to the station when he was half way whom should he see but his wife walking sedately along; she looked very nice in a coffee coloured dress trimmed with brown velvet a bonnet to match with a pretty bird in front ...
— Daisy Ashford: Her Book • Daisy Ashford
... living to the full. And happiness is to be sought within, and not among the things that lie at our feet. The book before us is wholesome and vivacious. It provokes many a smile, and beneath each one is a bit of wisdom it would do us a world of good to learn. It recalls the saying of the wise man 'A merry heart doeth good like ...
— The University of Hard Knocks • Ralph Parlette
... getting well stricken in years, and he was conscious that he was not long for earth. Therefore, like a wise man, he bestowed much thought on that world into which he was fast hastening. His worldly ambition was at an end, he appeared but seldom in public, and was much given to retirement and meditation. He had at last learned to see the things of earth ...
— The Young Captives - A Story of Judah and Babylon • Erasmus W. Jones
... prayers of Patrick for as Declan was walking carelessly along he trod upon a piece of sharp iron which cut his foot so that blood flowed freely and Declan began to limp. Ailbe of Emly was present at this miracle and Sechnall a bishop of Patrick's and a holy and wise man, and he is said to be the first bishop buried in Ireland. The wound which Declan had received grieved them very much. Patrick was informed of the accident and was grieved thereat. He said:—"Heal, O Master (i.e. God), the foot of your own servant who ...
— Lives of SS. Declan and Mochuda • Anonymous
... world, without even a dog, with a deaf and dumb gardener older than himself, was he not an example of the greatest happiness possible on earth? Without a responsibility, without a duty, without an anxiety, other than that of taking care of his dear health! He was a wise man, he would live a ...
— Doctor Pascal • Emile Zola
... forbids to Christians any of the innocent pleasures of this life: the Christian may lawfully appropriate them. His system does not constrain him to hermit-like austerity or Puritanic grimace. He may enjoy them, just as a wise man, who will not sacrifice any of the interests of next year for a transient gratification of the passing hour, does not deny himself any legitimate pleasure which is not inconsistent with the more momentous interest. The pilgrim ...
— The Eclipse of Faith - Or, A Visit To A Religious Sceptic • Henry Rogers
... complete without the concluding one, the semicolon is used; as in the following examples: "As the desire of approbation, when it works according to reason, improves the amiable part of our species; so, nothing is more destructive to them, when it is governed by vanity and folly;" "The wise man is happy, when he gains his own approbation; the fool, when he gains the applause of those around him;" "Straws swim upon the surface; but pearls lie at ...
— English Grammar in Familiar Lectures • Samuel Kirkham
... ay! Wisdom's nothing but a pretending to know and believe more than we really do. You read of but one wise man, and all that he knew was, that he knew nothing. Come, come, leave business to idlers and wisdom to fools; they have need of 'em. Wit be my faculty, and pleasure my occupation; and let Father Time ...
— The Comedies of William Congreve - Volume 1 [of 2] • William Congreve
... calamity of Hamlet married to Ophelia! That would have been a tragedy. Think of a man clever enough to discover that his idol was made of putty—that his sweetheart was a Rosamond Vincy! Hamlet was a wise man. He withdrew in time. Most men have to be married ten years to discover that they have married an ...
— From a Girl's Point of View • Lilian Bell
... and heavy sorrow fell upon them. Their son James died, and the two old people found themselves left alone to care for his delicate widow and her fatherless children. Other troubles followed closely on this. James Fleming had never been a worldly-wise man, and he died in debt. Some of the claims were just, some of them were doubtful, none of them could have held against his father. But the old man gave not a moment's hearing to those who made this suggestion. The honour of his son's name and memory was at ...
— David Fleming's Forgiveness • Margaret Murray Robertson
... light carriage, you double-distilled, round-headed wise man of the west, you! Put the heavy goods at the bottom and the light ...
— Mother Carey's Chicken - Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle • George Manville Fenn
... "The wise man," said the Russian, still determined on evasion, "never takes sides, unless they are sides ...
— The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England - A Tale of the Great Invasion • P. G. Wodehouse
... public recollection of the great deeds of the war as well as broaden and deepen American patriotism. Sherman remarked in 1888 that there was some danger that a peace-loving generation in time of crises "would conclude that the wise man stays at home, and leaves the fools to take the buffets and kick of war." This danger can best be met by just such an organization as the G.A.R., with its campfires of song and story. Comradeship, charity and patriotism—these should be the ...
— The Story of The American Legion • George Seay Wheat
... hand in the game, and become, in regard to the infinite possibilities still sleeping in the transmitted germ, a self-liberator. Nature is but a figurative expression for the chances of life, and the wise man faces no more chances than he needs must. Scientific breeding is no mere application of the multiplication table to a system of items. We must make resolutely for the types that seem healthy and capable, suppressing the defectives in a no less ...
— Progress and History • Various
... wise man that does. But if you love the Lord Jesus with all your heart, you will find that in everything you do you can somehow please Him, and that He is first ...
— Melbourne House • Elizabeth Wetherell
... we have a strong instance of a very good man doing a very bad thing; and, withal, of a wise man acting most unwisely because his wisdom knew not its place; a right noble, just, heroic spirit bearing directly athwart the virtues he worships. On the whole, it is not wonderful that Brutus should have exclaimed, ...
— The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Caesar • William Shakespeare
... I were but the Grand Monarch! What improvements would I make! What a scope for invention, Aby! A kingdom! A revenue of four hundred millions of livres, and a standing army of three hundred thousand men! All which, if the king were a wise man, it is very evident, Abimelech, he might employ in improvements; and heaven knows there is a want of them. What are their petty corvees, by which these straight roads have been patched up, and their everlasting elms planted? I would assemble ...
— Anna St. Ives • Thomas Holcroft
... shrimp. Eh, this time I have guessed it! And as for Sister Maria Addolorata, she no longer sees with her eyes! To-day, when you were carrying in the baskets, you and the other women who went with us, I asked her whether the abbess was satisfied with the new doctor, and she answered that he was a very wise man, much wiser than Sor Tommaso. So I told her that it was a pity, because Sor Tommaso was getting well and would not allow the English doctor to come instead of him much longer. Then she looked at me. By Bacchus, I was afraid. Certain eyes! Not even a cat when you take away her kittens! ...
— Casa Braccio, Volumes 1 and 2 (of 2) • F. Marion Crawford
... compare this direct transfer of the practical experience of a wise man into the mind of a student,—every fact one that he can use in the battle of life and death,—with the far off, unserviceable "scientific" truths that I and some others are in the habit of teaching, I cannot help asking myself whether, if we concede that our forefathers taught too ...
— Medical Essays • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
... better than ours. Well, the White man walks one road—or some of them do—and the Black man another. They both end at the same place, and none will know which is the right road till the journey is done. Meanwhile, what you lose Saduko and his people gain. He is a wise man, Saduko, who knows how to choose his friends, and his wisdom has brought him victory and gifts. But to you, Macumazahn, it has brought nothing but honour, on which, if a man feeds only, he ...
— Child of Storm • H. Rider Haggard
... opportunities, and always availing itself of them: and in this sense Fortune may be said to favor fools by those who, however prudent in their own opinion, are deficient in valor and enterprise. Again, an eminently good and wise man, for whom the praises of the judicious have procured a high reputation even with the world at large, proposes to himself certain objects, and adapting the right means to the right end attains them; but his objects not being what the world calls Fortune, neither money nor ...
— The Best of the World's Classics, Vol. V (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland III • Various
... Being a weather-wise man, the skipper proved to be right. It did come thick; then it cleared, and, as we have said, things became favourable until they got further out to sea. Then a fancy took possession of Mabberly—namely, to have a "spin out into the Atlantic and ...
— The Eagle Cliff • R.M. Ballantyne
... deities are in armour, even Venus; so in Shakespeare all the characters are strong. Hence real folly and dulness are made by him the vehicles of wisdom. There is no difficulty for one being a fool to imitate a fool; but to be, remain, and speak like a wise man and a great wit, and yet so as to give a vivid representation of a veritable fool,—hic labor, hoc opus est. A drunken constable is not uncommon, nor hard to draw; but see and examine what goes ...
— Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher • S. T. Coleridge
... wise man, Hake. I thank thee. Go; I need not explain that two canoes at least would require to accompany you, so as to repel attack by water, and, if it be necessary, to flee, ...
— The Norsemen in the West • R.M. Ballantyne
... but he had no money for food or for foraging his horse, so he sold it willy-nilly and, hiring a room in a Waklah, lived by expending its price till the money was spent. Then he cried, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! The wise man doth even as the fool, but All-might is to Allah." So he went forth to solace himself in the highways of the city, looking rightwards and leftwards, until he came to the gateway of the King's Palace, and when he glanced around he saw written over it, "Dive not into the depths unless thou greed ...
— Supplemental Nights, Volume 5 • Richard F. Burton
... friar was a wise man, and full of observation on human nature, and he had attentively marked the lady's countenance when she heard herself accused, and noted a thousand blushing shames to start into her face, and then he saw an angel-like whiteness bear away ...
— Books for Children - The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb, Vol. 3 • Charles and Mary Lamb
... from the dominion of the tyrant is the duty of a wise man. When Raphael remarked that "Love ... hath his seat in Reason, and is judicious," he committed himself to a statement which a longer experience of the world would have enabled him to correct. But Milton wished it true; and perhaps even lured ...
— Milton • Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh
... know. The forests are wide. There is plenty of room for man and beast. This only will I reveal to you. To-night I shall call at the hut of Beniah the Hebrew. He is a wise man and will advise me. If I send news of myself it shall be through him. But tell not this to any one. It would only bring trouble on the old man. Farewell, my comrades. I will remember you as brothers—always. May the ...
— The Hot Swamp • R.M. Ballantyne
... Sandys was the wise man who saw all this most clearly. He urged the company to send out hard-working married men, who would take their wives and children with them to Virginia and settle there for good. But this was not all. There were already ...
— Strange Stories from History for Young People • George Cary Eggleston
... set myself up as an authority in matters of love, but I do hold that no wise man ever proposed to a good and true woman without knowing in advance that she would accept him. Love has its secret code, and Nature gives the key to its discerning votaries. I have ...
— John Henry Smith - A Humorous Romance of Outdoor Life • Frederick Upham Adams
... now understand the quaintly-expressed opinion of a very wise man, who said: "In discharge of thy place, set before thee the best example."[35] That means whatever we strive to learn should be learned from works of the best kind. In the beginning, we cannot choose wisely the best examples to set before ourselves; therefore ...
— Music Talks with Children • Thomas Tapper
... to thee," said Darrel, as they walked along, "that a fool is blind to his folly, a wise man to his wisdom?" ...
— Darrel of the Blessed Isles • Irving Bacheller
... and learning how is simply doing it over and over until the legs and feet have acquired habits of motion and accommodation to distances and to what is underfoot. It is easy to do anything after we have done it again and again, so that it has become second-nature, and "second-nature" is habit. The wise man early forms certain habits of personal care, of eating, sleeping, exercising; of study, of meeting the usual occurrences of life. The first day he spent at anything new was a hard one. Nothing was done naturally. Active attention had to be ...
— Applied Psychology for Nurses • Mary F. Porter
... the vainest opinions of men are not to be outraged by those who propose to themselves the happiness of men for their end, and who must work with the passions of men for their means. The blind reverence for things ancient is indeed so foolish that it might make a wise man laugh, if it were not also sometimes so mischievous that it would rather make a good man weep. Yet, since it may not be wholly cured it must be discreetly indulged; and therefore those who would amend evil laws should consider ...
— The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Vol. 1 (of 4) - Contibutions to Knight's Quarterly Magazine] • Thomas Babington Macaulay
... usurp and reign. Should you but discompose the tide, On which Ideas wont to ride, Ferment it with a yeasty Storm, Or with high Floods of Wine deform; Altho' Sir Oracle is he, Who is as wise, as wise can be, In one short minute we shall find The wise man gone, a fool behind. Courage, that is all nerve and heart, That dares confront Death's brandish'd dart, That dares to single Fight defy The stoutest Hector of the sky, Whose mettle ne'er was known to slack, Nor wou'd on thunder turn his back; How small a matter may controul, ...
— The Methodist - A Poem • Evan Lloyd
... "are love and tranquillity." Contentment is of a kind with meekness. The greatest riches are contentment and patience. He who esteems his rank but lightly enhances man's estimation of his dignity. A wise man has said, "Be humble without cringing, and manly without being arrogant. Arrogance is a wilderness and haughtiness a taking refuge therein, ...
— A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy • Isaac Husik
... comfortable in this wood than we should be in walking along the water-side, why, the sea-gulls and snipes lose the benefit of our company! The salt water, and all who live on it, are to be avoided by a wise man, Mr. Van Staats, except as they both serve to cheapen freight and to render trade brisk. You'll thank me for this care, niece of mine, when you reach the bluff, cool as a package of furs free from moth, and fresh and beautiful as a ...
— The Water-Witch or, The Skimmer of the Seas • James Fenimore Cooper
... wise man will act like the bee, and will try to settle, with affection, intelligence, and prudence, on all the gifts and all the sweetness that he has experienced, and on all the good that God has done to ...
— Light, Life, and Love • W. R. Inge
... or my capital,—O best of monarchs, forsaken by king Dhritarashtra, I come to thee for tendering good counsel. What I had said in the open court, I will now repeat unto thee. Listen, and bear my words in mind,—that wise man who bearing all the gross wrong heaped upon him by his enemies, patiently bideth his time, and multiplieth his resources even as men by degrees turn a small fire into a large one, ruleth alone this entire earth. He that (in prosperity) enjoyeth ...
— Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1 • Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
... the knell of parting day; The loafing herd winds slowly o'er the lea; The wise man homeward plods; I only stay To fiddle-faddle in ...
— The Devil's Dictionary • Ambrose Bierce
... you. And I love to think of the desolation all round us, and that there isn't a soul about, except a few gipsies down there, and a few wild, half-naked fishermen. We've brought our own oasis with us into the Libyan Desert. And I think to-night I'll be a wise man ...
— Bella Donna - A Novel • Robert Hichens
... charged that modern democracy is contrary to enlightenment through subordinating the strong man to the multitude of weak men, or the wise man to the multitude of ignorant men. But the modern idea of justice is based fundamentally neither on the mere sentiment of pity nor on fear of the mob, but on love of truth, and respect for all organs that mediate it. Society cannot afford forcibly to repress the judgment of any individual or class, ...
— The Moral Economy • Ralph Barton Perry
... true," agreed Mr. Kendrick. "But it sometimes takes a wise man to see that a swing from the centre of things to the rim is the way to swing back to the centre finally. Well, I've looked about ...
— The Twenty-Fourth of June • Grace S. Richmond
... that the man who is clever in any of these arts should be wise also in general? Or is there a difference between the clever artist and the wise man? ...
— Alcibiades II • An Imitator of Plato
... for a moment be supposed that men such as those we speak of are weak and unreflective. The largest and most comprehensive natures are generally also the most cheerful, the most loving, the most hopeful, the most trustful. It is the wise man, of large vision, who is the quickest to discern the moral sunshine gleaming through the darkest cloud. In present evil he sees prospective good; in pain, he recognises the effort of nature to restore health; in trials, he finds correction and discipline; and in sorrow ...
— Character • Samuel Smiles
... and bastings be plenty enow in this life, without going out of one's way to invite them. But a truce to these matters; I believe your father. I doubt not he can lie; I doubt not he DOTH lie, upon occasion, for the best of us do that; but there is no occasion here. A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for nought. But come; sith it is thy humour to give over begging, wherewithal shall we ...
— Innocents abroad • Mark Twain
... The wise man seeks a friend in whom are those qualities which he himself may lack; for thus being united is their friendship the ...
— For Auld Lang Syne • Ray Woodward
... counsel with a wise man and a man of conscience and seek rather to be taught by thy betters than to ...
— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 6 • Charles H. Sylvester
... is, on the whole, a great deal better off to be honest. Dishonesty is a losing game. A wise man was once asked what one gained by not telling the truth. The reply was, "Not to be believed when he speaks the truth." He was right. There are a great many other respects, too, in which a dishonest person suffers by his dishonesty. I must tell you what a lie once ...
— Wreaths of Friendship - A Gift for the Young • T. S. Arthur and F. C. Woodworth
... know Hughie Rafferty, a silent man, a wise man—says he: 'He'll get out fifty yards, a hundred yards from shore and be stuck. And he'll say: "Well, I've done my best. Good-by and to hell with ye, and die like men!" And he'll come back. And if the boat turns over,' says Hughie Rafferty, 'he can swim like ...
— The Wind Bloweth • Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne
... Patterson of Livingston, and several others of lesser note. At the end of the committee appeared a merchant and a farmer, possibly for the reason that condiments make a dish more savoury. Ruggles was a simple-hearted and wise man. He had been on the Supreme bench for fifteen years, becoming one of the distinguished jurists of the State. In the fierce conflicts between Clintonians and Bucktails he acted with the former, and then, in 1828, followed DeWitt Clinton to the support of Andrew ...
— A Political History of the State of New York, Volumes 1-3 • DeAlva Stanwood Alexander
... would do with Johnnie, and for her; and Dr. Carr, having no chance to put in a word, listened patiently, and watched his little girl, who was clinging to her new friend and looking very eager and anxious. He saw that her heart was set on being "adopted," and, wise man that he was, it occurred to him that it might be well to grant her wish in part, and let her find out by experiment what was really the best and happiest thing. So he did not say "No" decidedly, as he at first meant, but took Johnnie on his ...
— Nine Little Goslings • Susan Coolidge
... himself. Now, he said he knew all about it. I am not very familiar with the writer of the Odyssey (who, by the way, I suspect strongly of having been a clergyman), but he assuredly hit the right nail on the head when he epitomised his typical wise man as knowing "the ways and farings of many men." What culture is comparable to this? What a lie, what a sickly debilitating debauch did not Ernest's school and university career now seem to him, in comparison with ...
— The Way of All Flesh • Samuel Butler
... the good and wise man is his master faculty, as the body is for the physician and the trainer, and the soil is the subject for the husbandman. And the work of the good and wise man is to use appearances according to Nature. For it is the nature of every ...
— Celibates • George Moore
... next fello covers that with a quart of gravy an sticks a pickle in the top with his thum like inlaid work. The last one levels it off with a piece of bread slammed on like a cover. Angus says its a wise man that knows his own dinner unless hes got ...
— "Same old Bill, eh Mable!" • Edward Streeter
... unfortunately gets possession of a wise man's head, is as keenly sensible of ridicule, as it is impassible to its shafts when more appropriately lodged with a fool. Of the sensitiveness arising out of this foible Walpole seems to have had a great deal, and it certainly dictated those hard-hearted ...
— The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 1 • Horace Walpole
... head, the belated editor of that law journal has come to the conclusion—self-evident as it ought to be to a child—that a judge has no legal right to take from an accused person the right of trial by jury. Sapient editor, wise man! No second Solomon, you. You, with all your legal lore, have at last managed to see, in a year and a month, what the veriest simple woman in the land, all uneducated as women are in the technicalities of the law, had no difficulty of seeing ...
— History of Woman Suffrage, Volume II • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage |
