“The essence of wisdom is to know when to be doing, and when it's useless even to try”
Source: The Last Enchantment
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Mary Stewart7
English novelist 1916–2014Related quotes
“To know when to be generous and when firm—that is wisdom.”
Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American novelist, short story writer, designer
John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States
Letter to Thomas Jefferson (17 January 1820). Often misquoted as "God is an essence that we know nothing of" and attached to a part of his 22 January 1825 letter to Thomas Jefferson.
1820s
“Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist
“When you know that the snake is in you – that's wisdom.”
Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology
Other
“Parents probably don’t know that they are playing favorites even when they are doing it.”
Robert A. Heinlein book Time for the Stars
Source: Time for the Stars (1956), Chapter 5, “The Party of the Second Part” (p. 54)
“Wisdom comes to us when it can no longer do any good.”
Gabriel García Márquez book Love in the Time of Cholera
Source: Love in the Time of Cholera
