William Law Quotes

The first Degree of Folly, is to conceit one's self wise; the second to profess it; the third to despise Counsel.

He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks.

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself a fool.

A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.

I'm not conceited. Conceit is a fault and I have no faults.

For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.

The only person, if you're a religious person, who's always right is God. And if you make the mistake of thinking that you, like God, are always right, and that you, like God, always know everything, then it seems to me you're riding for a fall.

To be proud of knowledge is to be blind with light.

People are never so near playing the fool as when they think themselves wise.

If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed.

There's no one as transparent as the person who thinks he's devilish deep.

Some would be sages if they did not believe they were so already.

The greatest fool is he who thinks he is not one and all others are.

Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone, and a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.

He who thinks himself wise, O heavens! is a great fool.

When one becomes conscious of his great humility, he has already lost it. When one begins boasting of his humility, it has already become pride-the antithesis of humility.

Pride blinds people to the truth of what they are.

He who considers himself a paragon of wisdom is sure to commit some superlatively stupid act.

The line between confidence and arrogance is very fine, Josh,” Flamel said quietly. “And the line between arrogance and stupidity even finer. Sophie,” he added, without looking at her.

A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

Knowledge does not corrupt, unless it is arrogant; but then it is not true knowledge.

Is there any vanity greater than the vanity of those who believe themselves without it?

To be proud of virtue, is to poison yourself with the Antidote.

There is always the fear of self-righteousness possessing us, the fear of arrogating to ourselves a superiority that we do not possess.