Wisdom Proverbs
Sayings about Age & Wisdom
It is easier to wage war with wise enemies than be at peace with foolish friends. ~ Afghan ProverbPoor folk’s wisdom counts very little. ~ Dutch Proverb
Experience is the mother of wisdom. ~ Traditional Proverb
It is a wise man who lives with money in the bank; it is a fool who dies that way. ~ French Proverb
A drop of wisdom is better than a sea of gold. ~ Greek Proverb
Riches serve a wise man but command a fool. ~ English Proverb
A fool by chance may say a wise thing. ~ Dutch Proverb
Do more things by wisdom than by force. ~ Hungarian Proverb
A fool can ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in seven years. ~ English Proverb
The wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool does from his friends. ~ Chinese Proverb
The heart of a fool is in his mouth and the mouth of the wise man is in his heart. ~ Ethiopian Proverb
Wealth gets in the way of wisdom. ~ Japanese Proverb
The wise man, even when he holds his tongue, says more than the fool when he speaks. ~ Yiddish Proverb
Wisdom does not come overnight. ~ Somali Proverb
The dying cannot leave their wisdom or experience to their heirs. ~ Italian Proverb
He that’s a wise man by day is no fool by night. ~ English Proverb
Wisdom is in the head, not in the beard. ~ Ukrainian Proverb
Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. ~ Zen Proverb
Better a wise man’s servant than an idiot’s master. ~ Vietnamese Proverb
We start as fools and become wise through experience. ~ Tanzanian Proverb
Gold without wisdom is but clay. ~ Slovak Proverb
To the world wisdom is folly; to the wise the world is foolish. ~ Indian Proverb
Wisdom is born; stupidity is learned. ~ Russian Proverb
There is no wise response to a foolish remark. ~ Slovak Proverb
Wisdom is wealth. ~ Swahili Proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass. ~ Japanese Proverb
What a fool can spoil, ten wise men cannot repair. ~ Yiddish Proverb
A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will. ~ Spanish Proverb
In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. ~ Nigerian proverb
The fool has to do at last what the wise did at first. ~ Italian Proverb
It is better to be in hell with a wise man than in heaven with an idiot. ~ Yiddish Proverb
One idiot can ask more questions than ten wise men can answer. ~ Mongolian Proverb
Knowing just one word of wisdom is like knowing a hundred ordinary words. ~ Tibetan Proverb
When God punishes a land, he deprives it leaders of wisdom. ~ Italian Proverb
Wisdom is easy to carry but difficult to gather. ~ Czech Proverb
Better a drop of wisdom than an ocean of gold. ~ Greek Proverb
Everyone is wise until he speaks. ~ Irish Proverb
A fool who can keep silent is counted among the wise. ~ Yiddish Proverb
The fool sings a love song to his wife; the wise man will talk about his dog. ~ Turkish Proverb
Foolish boys, wise men. ~ Italian Proverb
The wise man is father of the fool. ~ African Proverb
Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom. ~ Chinese Proverb
For a wise man a fool is a good advisor. ~ French Proverb
Economy is the wealth of the poor and the wisdom of the rich. ~ French Proverb
Wisdom and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart. ~ Japanese Proverb
Great doubts deep wisdom. Small doubts little wisdom. ~ Chinese Proverb
The speaker may well be a fool but the listener is wise. ~ Japanese Proverb
You cannot buy wisdom abroad if there is none at home. ~ Russian Proverb
From listening comes wisdom, and from speaking repentance. ~ Italian Proverb
A wise man’s day is worth a fool’s life. ~ Arabian Proverb
The believer is happy; the doubter is wise. ~ Hungarian Proverb
Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand. ~ Guinean proverb
When the fool knows when to be silent, he would be sitting among the wise. ~ Czech Proverb
What wise men suppose is worth more than the certainties of fools. ~ Arabian Proverb
When a fool has the cow by the horns, the wise man can milk it. ~ Yiddish Proverb
A spoon does not know the taste of soup, nor a learned fool the taste of wisdom. ~ Welsh Proverb
If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom. ~ African proverb
Hunt in every jungle, for there is wisdom and good hunting in all of them. ~ African Proverb
The wise man says what he knows; the fool doesn’t know what he is saying. ~ Turkish Proverb
Only through suffering and sorrow do we acquire the wisdom not found in books. ~ Japanese Proverb
Beauty is the wisdom of women. Wisdom is the beauty of men. ~ Chinese Proverb
Be wise, but pretend to be ignorant. ~ Russian Proverb
A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything. ~ African Proverb
What a fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning. ~ American Proverb
The wise man asks questions of himself; the fool questions others. ~ Chinese Proverb
Maturity comes from wisdom not in the passing of years. ~ Iranian Proverb
As the wise man looks for a bridge the fool crosses the river. ~ Iranian Proverb
The fool speaks, the wise man listens. ~ Ethiopian proverb
If a rich man eats a snake people say, “This is wisdom!” If a poor man eats a snake people say, “This is folly!” ~ Lebanese Proverb
Fools build houses, and wise men buy them. ~ English Proverb
The pine stays green in winter, wisdom in hardship. ~ Chinese Proverb
Age is the price of wisdom. ~ Traditional Proverb
Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it. ~ East African Proverb
The wise understand; fools follow the reports of others. ~ Tibetan Proverb
A miser’s money takes the place of wisdom. ~ Dutch Proverb
A wise man will not rebuke a fool. ~ Chinese Proverb
Wisdom is lost in a fat man’s body. ~ Japanese Proverb
Penny wise and pound foolish. ~ Scottish Proverb
The palace leads to fame, the market to fortune, and loneliness to wisdom. ~ Chinese Proverb
Beauty without wisdom is like a flower in the mud. ~ Romanian Proverb
A foolish fox is caught by one leg, but a wise one by all four. ~ Serbian Proverb
The greatest wisdom of all is kindness. ~ Hebrew Proverb
Useless wisdom is double foolishness. ~ Icelandic Proverb
The biggest fools are those who are paid to be wise. ~ German Proverb
Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom. ~ German Proverb
Better a good conscience without wisdom than wisdom without a good conscience. ~ German Proverb
Wisdom consists of ten parts: nine parts silence and one part a few words. ~ Arabian Proverb
Rivalry of scholars advances wisdom. ~ Hebrew Proverb
What use is wisdom when folly reigns? ~ Yiddish Proverb
A fool says what he knows, and a wise man knows what he says. ~ Yiddish Proverb
The fool does what he can’t avoid; the wise man avoids what he can’t do. ~ Chinese Proverb
Gray hair is a sign of age, not of wisdom. ~ Greek Proverb
Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and hidden. ~ Ghanaian Proverb
Reason is the wise man’s guide, example the fool’s. ~ Welsh Proverb
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. ~ Chinese Proverb
A fool is a wise man’s ladder. ~ South African Proverb
The foolish sayings of a rich man pass for wise ones. ~ Spanish Proverb
The hot sun melts away the snow; when anger comes, does wisdom go. ~ Indian Proverb
Wise men philosophize as the fools live on. ~ Korean Proverb
Were fools silent, they would pass for wise. ~ Dutch Proverb
Boasting begins where wisdom stops. ~ Japanese Proverb
Under a ragged coat lies wisdom. ~ Romanian Proverb
That is good wisdom which is wisdom in the end. ~ Dutch Proverb
Even from a foe a man may learn wisdom. ~ Greek Proverb
He alone is wise who can accommodate himself to all contingencies of life; but the fool contends, and struggling, like a swimmer, against the stream. ~ Latin Proverb
It is better to weep with wise men than to laugh with fools. ~ Spanish Proverb
When a hundred men call a wise man a fool, then he becomes a fool. ~ Albanian Proverb
Silence is the fence around wisdom. ~ Yiddish Proverb
Men can acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools ever known were learned men. ~ Spanish Proverb
Better a slap from a wise man than a kiss from a fool. ~ Yiddish Proverb
The Gift of Age: Wit and Wisdom. ~ Book preview