“In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.”
Oscar Wilde book Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young
Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (1894)
“In examinations the foolish ask questions that the wise cannot answer.”
Oscar Wilde book Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young
Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young (1894)
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) Indian spiritual philosopher
Source: 1980s, That Benediction is Where You Are (1985), p. 63
Context: Are we wasting our lives? By that word “wasting” we mean dissipating our energy in various ways, dissipating it in specialized professions. Are we wasting our whole existence, our life? If you are rich, you may say, “Yes, I have accumulated a lot of money, it has been a great pleasure.” Or if you have a certain talent, that talent is a danger to a religious life. Talent is a gift, a faculty, an aptitude in a particular direction, which is specialization. Specialization is a fragmentary process. So you must ask yourself whether you are wasting your life. You may be rich, you may have all kinds of faculties, you may be a specialist, a great scientist or a businessman, but at the end of your life has all that been a waste? All the travail, all the sorrow, all the tremendous anxiety, insecurity, the foolish illusions that man has collected, all his gods, all his saints and so on — have all that been a waste? You may have power, position, but at the end of it — what? Please, this is a serious question that you must ask yourself. Another cannot answer this question for you.
Paul Goodman book Growing Up Absurd
Source: Growing Up Absurd (1956), p. 145.
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst
Source: Man for Himself (1947), Ch. 3 "Human Nature and Character
Maimónides book The Guide for the Perplexed
Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.13