Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.
The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.
- Topic: Action, Wisdom
- Photo: Jeffrey Benjamin
More Quotes from Niccolo Machiavelli
The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the induction of a new order of things.
Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.
The first method of estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.
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Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
I think that, as life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived.
The perils of overwork are slight compared to the dangers of inactivity.
We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one any more.
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.
I was wise enough to never grow up while fooling most people into believing I had.
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance. Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation. Where there is poverty and joy, there is neither greed nor avarice. Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt.