Wise men

“ Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. ”

“ From a vain persuasion of wisdom, from a foolish imagination of some excellency in yourselves, and some inward affection to be accounted something of among men. “Who is a wise man,” &c. You would be accounted wise, and so you do account yourselves, and this begets strife and envy in the heart, and predisposeth the mind to strife and contention with others. ”

“ And when I say wise men I do not, indeed, mean merely the literary men or the artists, but all those somebodies with some real force of character, people with brains and hearts, fighters and lovers, saints and thinkers, and the patient industrious workers. ”

“ If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in the things of God, let him get the wisdom of men, that he may be wise. ”

“ It may be objected, that very wise men have been notoriously avaricious. I answer, Not wise in that instance. It may likewise be said, That the wisest men have been in their youth immoderately fond of pleasure. ”

“ And during that obscure introductory interval which elapsed while the speculative tendencies of men were as yet hardly disentangled from the practical, those who were most eminent in such inquiries were distinguished by the same term of praise which is applied to sagacity in matters of action, and were called wise men—σοφοὶ. ”

“ Not yet Enough!—It is not sufficient to prove a case, we must also tempt or raise men to it: hence the wise man must learn to convey his wisdom; and often in such a manner that it may sound like foolishness! ”

“ But we may further note, that whereas he would have him to hear the words of the wise, it is to his knowledge that he would have him apply his heart. For we may hear the words of the wise men of this world, we may hear the words of human learning and understanding, and much good is to be gotten from them; but we must apply our hearts unto the knowledge of God’s Word, and so far receive the other as they agree with that, or are not repugnant unto it. Or else hear the words of the wise, whosoever they be, if they be the words of wisdom which they deliver. ”

“ Work patiently at your studies, not that men may think you wise, not even that you may have the happiness of being wise, but because only the wise man can be wisely helpful. However much you wish to help, if you are ignorant you may do more harm than good.
You must distinguish between truth and falsehood; you must learn to be true all through, in thought and word and deed. ”

“ These views of the source of thought and the mode of its communication lead us to a whole system of ethics, strict as any department of human duty, and open to us the tendencies and duties of men of thought in the present time.
Wisdom is like electricity. There is no permanent wise man, but men capable of wisdom, who being put into certain company or other favorable conditions become wise, as glasses rubbed acquire power for a time. ”

“ So men are enabled by philosophy "to put things in their right order" and by religion "to control them well," thus becoming indeed worthy to be "called wise."
Now, from the beginnings of conscious life, man has found himself surrounded and besieged by un-calculable phenomena. ”

“ Those that have solid wisdom will have the credit of it; it will gain them reputation, and they shall be called prudent grave men, and a deference will be paid to their judgment. Do that which is wise and good and thou shalt have the praise of the same. ”

“ If a man is capable of becoming wise, he will gradually be able to infer from this increasing mass of personal experience, the extent to which or the conditions under which he is capable of realizing his purpose; and his insight into the particular realities of his own life will bring with it some kind of a general philosophy—some sort of a disposition and method of appraisal of men, their actions, and their surroundings. ”

“ And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor.” Verses 11-13.
9. Are great men always wise?
“Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.” Job 32:9.
10. What is the beginning of wisdom?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.” Ps. 111:10.
11. By what means was the psalmist made wiser than his enemies?
“Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.” ”

“ To be wiser than other men is to be honester than they; and strength of mind is only courage to see and speak the truth.—Hazlitt.
Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers.—Tennyson.
Seize wisdom ere 'tis torment to be wise; that is, seize wisdom ere she seizes thee.—Young.
Wisdom married to immortal verse.—Wordsworth.
No man can be wise on an empty stomach.—George Eliot.
Among mortals second thoughts are wisest.—Euripides. ”

“ About this human life that is to be, or that is, the wise religious men tell us nothing that we can trust; and the wise contemplative men, nothing that can give us peace. But there is yet a third class, to whom we may turn—the wise practical men. ”

“ Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. 2 For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 Through wisdom is an house built; and by understanding it is established: 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 5 A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge increaseth strength. [187] [188] 6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. ”

“ Of course, what is real and universal cannot be confined to the circle of those who sympathize strictly with his genius, but will pass forth into the common stock of wise and just thinking. The world has a sure chemistry, by which it attracts what is excellent in its children, and lets fall the infirmities and limitations of the grandest mind. ”

“ Let us be poised, and wise, and our own, today. Let us treat the men and women well; treat them as if they were real; perhaps they are. ”

“ We’re goin’ to put some rocks and a bunch of cactus on the stage.”
“What do we do?” squeaks Scenery.
“You will be asleep,” explains Testament. “The lamp will be turned low and have a cover over it. Everything will be still. I’ll have somebody behind the curtain to take off the cover of the moon, and slowly turn up the lamp. One of you wise men wakes up and sees the dim light. You wakes up the rest of the bunch, and you all stands up, looking at the light.
“Then you—Magpie. I reckon we better have the mule layin’ down, hadn’t we? ”

“ Could the straggling thoughts of individuals be collected, they would frequently form materials for wise and able men to improve into useful matter. ”

“ Testament, will yuh look up something for the wise men to say, and how we wants ’em to dress?”
“Yea, verily I will, Magpie.”
“I can make me some whiskers out of a horse’s tail,” says Tellurium.
“I hope the horse sees yuh takin’ them,” says Magpie.
Then the meeting broke up, and we adjourned to Buck’s place.
Scenery is tickled stiff to think he’s goin’ to be a actor, but I ain’t cheering—yet. Me and Dirty Shirt are veterans in this acting game, and we knows it takes nerve, speed and a strong constitution.
The old Romans and their wild animal arena never had nothing of Piperock. ”

“ I have taken it so seriously that you will never see me handling it but in the practical way. Therefore, among those who surround me I enjoy a fine reputation for wisdom. To be wise is to be happy, and I have contrived so as to pass my existence in the most pleasant manner possible. I counsel you to make as much of it, and I am going to tell what I mean by being wise: Make use of the things of life with moderation, discretion, and prudence. Now, what constitutes life? Spirit and matter. ”

“ Those who are wise in mind have a certain attribute of nature peculiar to themselves; and they who have shown themselves capable, receive from the Supreme Wisdom a spirit of perception in double measure. ”

“ If we are wiser than others, this should be evidenced by the goodness of our conversation, not by the roughness or vanity of it. Words that inform, and heal, and do good, are the marks of wisdom; not those that look great, and do mischief, and are the occasions of evil, either in ourselves or others. 2. True wisdom may be known by its works. The conversation here does not refer only to words, but to the whole of men's practice; therefore it is said, Let him show out of a good conversation his works. True wisdom does not lie in good notions or speculations so much as in good and useful actions. ”

“ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. ”

“ But I shall be most pleased to think we have not spent the day entirely for ourselves. Our tracts to those men may do them great good. They may be as sunbeams to light them on the way to heaven. Isn’t that the most pleasing thought of the day, Minnie?”
“Yes, aunt; but do you think tracts are always sunbeams to those who receive them?”
“No, Minnie, by no means. Many persons get no good from them at all. But thousands have been greatly benefited by them. We must hope and pray that ours will prove to be as good [46] seed sown on good soil. ”

“ We note, further, the clear statement of the way by which incipient 'wisdom' will grow, and of the certainty of its growth if it is real. It is the 'wise man' who will 'increase in learning,' the 'man of understanding' who 'attains unto sound counsels.' The treasures are thrown away on him who has no heart for them. You may lavish wisdom on the 'fool,' and it will run off him like water off a rock, fertilising nothing, and stopping outside him. ”

“ Truly wise people—and by wisdom I mean an aggregation of those qualities and acceptances and compromises that make for a fairly unruffled progress through this difficult life—truly wise people are not fastidious. ”

“ I would ask of my friends or foes, no matter which—I mean those who do not believe as I do—those who look upon us as a set of fanatics, I would ask a few questions of the world of mankind, of the greatest philosophers, of the greatest geniuses, and of the men of the most profound knowledge on the face of the earth, Can you tell me where you get your knowledge? ”

“ To refuse to be enslaved by any outward thing or happening, regarding all such things and happenings as for your use, for your education, this is Wisdom. To the wise all occurrences are good, and, having no eye for evil, they grow wiser every day. ”

“ True wisdom, with its furniture and improvement, comes from him as the God of grace and the Father of every good and perfect gift. Shall we pretend to be wiser than God, when we have all our wisdom from him? Nay, shall we pretend to be wise above our sphere, and beyond the limits which he that gave us our understanding sets to it? ”

“ I’ll sew, let me see; well, I’ll sew a strip long enough to go once around my quilt before I stir, let the little wizard say what he will.”
Stitch, stitch, stitch, went Jessie’s bright, swift, little needle for the next half-hour. Then her two cousins bounced into the room, shouting—
“O Jessie, come and see! There is one of the funniest little men out here you ever did see. He’s got no neck, and he wears the queerest sort of a hat! ”

“ How do women learn to drink, Pa? They don’t go to the tavern like men, do they?”
“Not at first, Guy. Usually they begin at home, or at parties, or when stopping at the great hotels, where wine is drunk at the dinner-table. In many families, also, wine is used at the table, and fathers and mothers teach their daughters to drink it as a daily beverage. But generally, I believe, ladies begin their habit of drinking wine at parties, taking it, at first, not from choice, but because they don’t like to be thought singular.” ”

“ The supreme parental responsibility is to give or to help children to achieve for themselves those [Pg 31] standards by which alone men truly live, to give to children the impulse that shall reveal not what they may live by but what they ought to live for. The one potent way to avoid future conflict is so to make for, not point to, a goal that children shall not become mere money-grubbers or perpetuators of ancient prejudices or maintainers of false values or lawless upholders of the law. ”

“ They felt, he said, a very sweet satisfaction in themselves; they were smiled upon by the Father and Saviour of men; and they would, in the better land, be more than rewarded with mansions, robes, crowns, and honors, which selfish people would forever envy but never enjoy.
This talk with her uncle did Jessie good. She afterwards bore Madge’s outbreaks of temper with more patience, and tried to set her such an example as would make her feel her own faults far more than by scolding or fretting. ”

“ There was a time when, in the speech of the Apocryphal teacher of wisdom men strove for the prizes that were undefiled. But the prizes of the card table are not only defiled but defiling. They fill the lives of women not a few with mentally hurtful and morally enervating excitement. ”

“ Why should not the scholar, if he is really wiser than the multitude, do coarse work now and then? Why not let his greater wisdom enable him to do without things? If you say the wise man is unlucky, how could you distinguish him from the foolishly unfortunate? ”

“ Magistrates must take heed that none suffer under them for well doing; nor must parents provoke their children to wrath by unjust rebukes.
verses 27-28
27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words:
and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. 28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:
and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Two ways a man may show himself to be a wise man:—1. By the good temper, the sweetness and the sedateness, of his mind: A man of understanding is of an excellent spirit, a precious spirit (so the word is) ”

“ It is a time when grown men become like little children. Yeah, that's a fact—mentally. Piperock ain't got any too much sense when she's acting growed up; but right now huh!"
THERE ain't no reason why a lot of disreputable snake-hunters can't spend their Christmas in Paradise or Curlew; but they don't. Nope. They clutters up Piperock to partake of our good cheer. Me and Dirty looks over that aggregation of incompetents, and the sight drives all wisdom, peace and good will from our hearts. ”