“The average man's opinions are much less foolish than they would be if he thought for himself.”
More from Bertrand Russell on Wisdom
“Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed.”
“We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power.”
“All that alcohol does for them is to liberate the sense of sin, which reason suppresses in saner moments.”
“In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”
“Conquer the world by intelligence, and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it.”
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so sure of themselves and wiser people so full of doubts.”
“There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.”
“Where envy is unavoidable it must be used as a stimulus to one’s own efforts, not to the thwarting of the efforts of rivals.”
“Nothing is so exhausting as indecision and nothing is so futile.”
Others on Wisdom
Sun Tzu
30 quotes“Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”
Dalai Lama
22 quotes“Compassion is the radicalism of our time.”
Cervantes
20 quotes“A closed mouth catches no flies.”
Aesop
19 quotes“Little by little does the trick.”
Confucius
19 quotes“The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man perfected without trials.”
Ben Franklin
18 quotes“Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.”
Napoleon
16 quotes“Ability is of little account without opportunity.”
Cicero
15 quotes“Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.”
Rudyard Kipling
14 quotes“I keep six honest serving men. (They taught me all I know) Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and...”
Khalil Gibran
14 quotes“Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge.”
George Washington
14 quotes“Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.”
George R.R. Martin
14 quotes“This was how an enemy should be dealt with: with a dagger, not a declaration.”