James Russell Lowell Quotes

Sciences may be learned by rote, but wisdom not.

A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.

If you would judge, understand.

Judgment is contained in the act of trying to understand.

Be quick to learn and wise to know.

Philosophy is nothing but discretion.

Opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making.

Ability to discern that what is true is true, and that what is false is false, is the characteristic of intelligence.

We can all make better decisions when we're informed.

You can't be wise without being intelligent, but you certainly can be intelligent without being wise.

Where sense is wanting, everything is wanting.

It's good to know how to read, but it's dangerous to know how to read and not how to interpret what you're reading.

The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought.

The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects.

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

All men by nature desire knowledge.

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.

The analysis of concepts is for the understanding nothing more than what the magnifying glass is for sight.

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.

My definition of an educated man is the fellow who knows the right thing to do at the time it has to be done. You can be sincere and still be stupid.

Judgment is more than skill. It sets forth on intellectual seas beyond the shores of hard indisputable factual information.

The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second, to know that which is true.

Knowledge, may it be said, is higher than magic and is more to be sought. It is quite possible to see what is happening and yet not know what is forward, for while seeing is believing, it does not follow that either seeing or believing is knowing.

Wise men argue causes; fools decide them.

Be as smart as you can, but remember that it is always better to be wise than to be smart.