From the cradle, children are introduced to wisdom, giving it the image of a bizarre grandfather with a gray beard and mustache, similar to a kind of old man, from whom the answers to all questions are not hidden. Wise statements come from his lips, which are not immediately clear, but very deep. Fairy tales paint such an image, probably everyone had such an idea in childhood. And this is not surprising, because wisdom is often associated with age and experience with which it comes. Consider an interesting wise parable about an old man.
The parable of the old wise man and the wanderers
In one area there lived a wise man who liked to spend time near the gates of the city, where the inhabitants came to ask for advice. In those days, it was customary to turn to wise men who solve riddles.
One day a small group of people approached this city. The one in front turned to the elder: "Sage, you live in this city and have a lot of experience. Please tell me what kind of people live in this city: good or bad?" The penetrating gaze of the gray-haired man studied the travelers for some time, after which he asked: "What kind of people have you met before?" Then the man, without thinking twice, began to list:"Evil, cruel, proud, arrogant…" The sage did not let him finish his thought, saying: "Then you have nothing to do in our city, because the same people live here." Hearing these words, the procession moved on.
After some time, other people came to the same city. Their clothes and appearance were very different from the previous group of travelers. The sage called the strangers: "What are you looking for, strangers?" The answer followed: "We want to find a city where we could find friends and comfort." Then the sage asked them the same question: "And what kind of people did you meet in other cities?" One of the men, the one in charge, replied: "Kind, loving, sympathetic…" Then the old man's face lit up with a smile: "Welcome to our city! Here you will find such people."
Wise sayings of great people
People have always sought wisdom. Sayings of wise people speak about it. And you, most likely, liked the parable that told about the wanderers and the wise man. Were you able to learn from this fictional story? As one man said two thousand years ago, "The righteousness of wisdom is confirmed by its works."
Anyone can be wise, regardless of age. However, wisdom cannot be found in philosophy, which tries to get to the bottom of the truth through speculation and fabrication. True wisdom is rather practical and logical. Throughout the history of mankind, many people lived on earth who, based on life experience, made interestingfindings. Consider only some of the wise sayings of great people. One of those who thought about wisdom and its importance was King Solomon.
The Wisdom of King Solomon
Here are some of the famous sayings of the wisest and greatest king of Israel - Solomon, which can be found in the Book of Proverbs:
- "Happy is he who discovers wisdom, and the man who gains discernment, for to gain wisdom is better than to accumulate silver, and the profit from it is greater than gold."
- "Never be wise in your own eyes."
- "My son, take care of your practical wisdom and your thinking abilities. If you do this, then they will be life to you and like jewelry around your neck."
This prudent king of the ancient people is said to have had wisdom given to him by God himself. The Bible Book of Proverbs contains dozens of wise thoughts expressed by him. However, even some of the sayings that are given above reveal to us the value of the spiritual in comparison with the material.
Wise words of Leo Tolstoy
L. N. Tolstoy became popular not only because of his literary talent, but also because he skillfully revealed the psychology of a person, talking about the relationship between people. He once wrote: “If you do something, do it well. If you cannot or do not want to do well, it’s better not to do it at all.”do . This thought perfectly captures the essence of people who are used to doing many things superficially.
The sayings of wise people and reflection on them show that those who are able to speak wisdom are excellent psychologists. And who better than the author of an aphorism can understand the true purpose of what he puts into practice?
Other sayings about knowledge and understanding
"Wiser is the ignoramus who is ignorant of wisdom than the sage who is hungry for ignorance."
(William Shakespeare).
"Only one deity can possess all-encompassing wisdom, and it is human nature only to strive for it" (Pythagoras).
"All philosophers are wise in their sentences and fools in their behavior" (Benjamin Franklin).
"Only that mind is a real mind that proves its validity in the act of knowing, and only that eye that really sees is a real eye" (F. Engels).
"Wisdom in all worldly affairs, it seems to me, consists not in knowing what to do, but in knowing what to do before and what after" (L. N. Tolstoy).
However, there is one point that should be considered when looking for wise sayings of the great in various sources. It will be good to know. It must be remembered that wise sayings do not always belong to those to whom they are usually attributed. In order not to be misled, it is necessary to check the authorship of certain words with the help of authoritative sources andreference books.
Balance is the main requirement of wisdom
In this article, we were able to consider only rare grains of true wisdom. Other verses, parables, wise sayings and riddles can be found in autobiographies and records that have been left to us as a legacy. The main thing is to show balance, because, as one smart person once said: "There will be no end to compiling a huge number of books." All of them are a clear evidence not only of the extent of human wisdom, but also of human delusions in great abundance. It is better to be a good person always and everywhere, and "do to people as we would like to be done to us."
