“I thought my heart was pure. We do like to have such good opinions of our own motives when we're about to do something harmful, to someone else.”
More from Margaret Atwood on Wisdom
“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.”
“A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.”
“I remember my mean mouth, I remember how wise I thought I was. But I was not wise then. Now I am wise.”
“The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.”
“Lose your temper and you lose the fight.”
“Perfection exacts a price, but it's the imperfect who pay it”
“The best way of being kind to bears is not to be very close to them.”
“You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.”
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.”
George Washington
14 quotes“Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive.”
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 R.R. Martin
14 quotes“This was how an enemy should be dealt with: with a dagger, not a declaration.”