Wisdom
The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic.
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Quotes About Wisdom
With insights and reflections from philosophers, artists, and other great thinkers throughout history, these wise quotes offer guidance and perspective to help you navigate the world around you.
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authors of Wisdom
Oscar Wilde
Irish poet and playwright (1854-1900)
Maya Angelou
Poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928-2014)
David Lynch
Filmmaker (1946-2025)
Susan Sontag
Writer and cultural critic (1933-2004)
Tenzin Palmo
Buddhist nun and teacher (1943-present)
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Children's author and memoirist (1965-2017)
A
Abigail Adams
Former U.S. first lady (1744-1818)
Al Pacino
Oscar- and Tony-winning actor (1940-present)
Alan Fletcher
Alan Watts
British philosopher, writer, and speaker (1915-1973)
Albert Camus
French philosopher and author (1913-1960)
Albert Einstein
Nobel Prize-winning physicist (1879-1955)
Alice Walker
Amelia Earhart
Aviation pioneer (1897-disappeared 1937)
Amit Ray
Indian spiritual teacher (1960-present)
Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Children's author and memoirist (1965-2017)
Ann Patchett
Author (1963-present)
Anne Lamott
Audre Lorde
Writer, poet, and civil rights activist (1934-1992)
August Wilson
Auguste Rodin
B
Ba Jin
Barbara Kingsolver
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer (1955-present)
Benjamin Franklin
U.S. founding father (1706-1790)
Betty White
Actress and comedian (1922-2021)
Beyoncé Knowles
Bill Watterson
Cartoonist and “Calvin and Hobbes” creator (1958-present)
Black Francis
Musician (1965-present)
Bo Burnham
Brené Brown
Researcher and storyteller (1965-present)
Bruce Lee
Martial artist and film actor (1940-1973)
Buckminster Fuller
C
C.S. Lewis
British writer (1898-1963)
Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875-1961)
Carl Rogers
Psychologist (1902-1987)
Carl Sagan
Astronomer and science communicator (1934-1996)
Carol Burnett
Cesar Chavez
Labor leader and civil rights activist (1927-1993)
Charlie Chaplin
Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker (1889-1977)
Chief Joseph
Leader of the Nez Perce (1840-1904)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian author (1977-present)
Christopher Morley
Clarice Lispector
Brazilian writer (1920-1977)
Conan O'Brien
Cormac McCarthy
D
E
F
Francis Picabia
Frank Capra
Frank Langella
Fred Rogers
Television host (1928-2003)
Frederick Douglass
Abolitionist and orator (1818-1895)
Frida Kahlo
Mexican painter and self-portraitist (1907-1954)
Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher and cultural critic (1844–1900)
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Russian novelist (1821-1881)
G
G.K. Chesterton
George Eliot
English writer (1819-1880)
George Santayana
Spanish American philosopher and writer (1863-1952)
George Saunders
Writer (1958-present)
Gertrude Stein
Gilda Radner
Gloria Anzaldúa
Gloria Steinem
Journalist, feminist, and activist (1934-present)
Gore Vidal
Greta Gerwig
Gretel Ehrlich
H
J
J.R.R. Tolkien
English writer and scholar (1892-1973)
Jacinda Ardern
40th prime minister of New Zealand (1980-present)
James Baldwin
Writer and civil rights activist (1924-1987)
James Thurber
Writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
Jane Wagner
Javier Bardem
Joan Didion
Writer and journalist (1934-2021)
Joan Rivers
Actress, comedian, and writer (1933-2014)
John Baldessari
Conceptual artist (1931-2020)
John F. Kennedy
35th U.S. president (1917-1963)
John Keats
English poet (1795-1821)
Jonathan Swift
Irish writer and satirist (1667-1745)
Joseph Campbell
Author and professor (1904-1987)
Josiah Gilbert Holland
Julia Alvarez
Novelist and poet (1950-present)
Julianne Moore
L
M
Mahershala Ali
Malala Yousafzai
Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize winner (1997-present)
Marcus Aurelius
Roman emperor (121-180 CE)
Marcus Garvey
Political activist and Black nationalist leader (1887-1940)
Marie Curie
Nobel Prize-winning Polish scientist (1867-1934)
Marilyn Monroe
Marilynne Robinson
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer (1943-present)
Marlene Dietrich
Martin Buber
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil rights leader (1929-1968)
Mary Oliver
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (1935-2019)
Masami Saionji
Maya Angelou
Poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928-2014)
Meryl Streep
Oscar-winning actress (1949-present)
Miles Davis
Jazz musician, bandleader, and composer (1926-1991)
Miyamoto Musashi
Japanese samurai (1584-1645)
O
P
R
S
Samuel Johnson
English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)
Sean Watkins
Sheryl Sandberg
Simone de Beauvoir
French philosopher and writer (1908-1986)
Stefan Sagmeister
Stefano Pilati
Stephen Covey
Motivational author and educator (1932-2012)
Stephen Sondheim
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and lyricist (1930-2021)
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Sontag
Writer and cultural critic (1933-2004)
Sylvia Plath
Poet and novelist (1932-1963)
T
T.H. Huxley
Tennessee Williams
Tenzin Palmo
Buddhist nun and teacher (1943-present)
Teresa of Ávila
Spanish nun and mystic (1515-1582)
Terry Pratchett
Fantasy author (1948-2015)
Thelonious Monk
Jazz pianist and composer (1917-1982)
Timothy Leary
Todd Henry
Toni Cade Bambara
Trevor Paglen
Tryon Edwards
Tyra Banks
W
W.B. Yeats
Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet and writer (1865-1939)
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.S. Merwin
Poet (1927-2019)
Warren Buffett
Will Durant
William A. Ward
Motivational writer (1921-1994)
William Arthur Ward
Motivational writer (1921-1994)
William Faulkner
Nobel Prize-winning writer (1897-1962)
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Saroyan
William Shakespeare
English playwright and poet (c. 1564-1616)
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