27 Orson Scott Card Quotes on Wisdom

Orson Scott Card quotes on wisdom

43. So he believed. Believed, but the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed, and every now and then sent out a little root. It changed everything, to have that seed growing. It made [him] listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said. It made him wise.

51. I fear that I also underestimate the stupidity of the rest of mankind.

104. Miro expected him to be wise. He had not expected him to be so intrusive, so dangerous. Yes, he was wise, all right, he kept seeing past pretense, kept saying or doing outrageous things that were, when you thought about it, exactly right. It was as if he was so familiar with the human mind that he could see, right on your face, the desires so deep, the truths so well-disguised that you didn't even know yourself that you had them in you

139. When have you ever seen someone who had no doubts who was also correct about anything?'

181. If you treat me this way, then I will treat you like a great lord, and if you do not detect the irony in my actions, then who of the two of us is the fool?

187. The wise are not wise because they make no mistakes. They are wise because they correct their mistakes as soon as they recognize them.

198. If you tell what you know, everyone is wiser. If you keep a secret, then everyone is a fool.

203. He's not as smart as he thinks he is Yes he is. And if you doubt it, you're not as smart as you think you are.

208. If only we were wiser or better people perhaps the gods would explain the mad, unbearable things they do

213. Isn't that the sweetest little well-balanced undergraduate-level philosophy of life.

228. Brilliant young people who were nevertheless silly with love-or youth, as if it made a difference.

347. We are all fools when one wise man appears.

374. To face death, that's nothing much. But to feel really stupid when you die, well, that would be insufferable.

381. I interpreted all you did as weakness - but I should have known that it was wisdom and strength, freely shared with all of us, even the ones who don't deserve it.

431. In another time, he would have flown into a rage at those words, would have blustered and threatened, or lashed out in fury. But he was a different man now, a tempered man, a man of discipline and quiet, ruthless wisdom.

499. I know what you do... I know why you do it. I can name you more truly than you can name yourself

506. Don't ask me questions when I don't even know the answer myself

520. A woman's wisdom is her gift to women. Her beauty is her gift to men. Her love is her gift to god

521. So why do you intend to inflict your wisdom on this poor unfortunate man you say you love? Because some men are great enough that they can love a whole woman, and not just part of her

705. Wishes are a waste of time... They only make you unhappy

792. There is no good thing that does not cost a dear price. That is what Cristoforo learned by looking back upon his life. Happiness is not a life without pain, but rather a life in which the pain is traded for a worthy price. That is what you gave me, lord.

849. I wish I was as smart as Zeforah,' said Hamar, her voice drippingly sweet. 'She always knows just how much is enough

925. She had that irony in her eyes. Knowledge without wisdom. Power without purpose. Like me.

1073. Isn't that the sweetest little well-balanced undergraduate-level philosophy of life. -Children of the Mind

1075. Your trust in rationality makes you irrational. (Children of the Mind)

1097. 'The wise are not wise because they make no mistakes. They are wise because they correct their mistakes as soon as they recognize them. -Xenocide

1104. Among my most prized possessions are the words that I have never spoken.

      Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.