He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
Confucius (551–479 BC) was a Chinese teacher and civil servant whose teachings on duty, family and government shaped Chinese thought for more than two thousand years. He wrote no book himself; the Analects are a collection of his sayings compiled by his students after his death.
About this theme: Wisdom
In the Western tradition wisdom is almost always defined by what it is not. Socrates is famous for claiming to know that he knew nothing; that was not modesty but method. Knowledge is a set of facts, wisdom is knowing what to do with them — and, more often, knowing when there are not enough of them.
More by Confucius
- It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
- Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
- The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
- Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
- Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
More on Wisdom
- Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.— Lao Tzu
- An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.— Benjamin Franklin
- Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.— Arthur Schopenhauer
- He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.— Lao Tzu
- Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.— Baruch Spinoza