50 Sage Quotes for Strengthening Spiritual Wisdom

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published September 9, 2023

These wise Sage quotes illuminate the path between knowledge and understanding.

Sages are venerable individuals who possess spiritual insight and profound wisdom.

These figures have emerged across different civilizations and cultures.

Sages have played a pivotal role when it comes to shaping values and beliefs.

They are usually referred to as the wise men or women.

Sages have held a unique stature in society.

These people offer guidance and inspire people to understand the true essence of humanity.

The Essence of Sages

Sages are known to be wise individuals and are popular for their spiritual insight and intellectual acumen.

Their wisdom comes from a wide range of sources, including:

Scholarly pursuits
Journey of introspection
Self-discovery
Contemplation

They are different from scholars as they possess experiential knowledge.

Their wisdom is usually earned through personal experiences obtained through isolation or hardships.

Influence on Humanity

Sages have a strong influence on humanity.

Their legacy has had an enduring and profound impact throughout history.

The wise figures are known to have left an indelible mark on the religion, culture, and social aspects of various societies.

Here are some ways in which sages have impacted humanity:

Philosophical and Religious Traditions
Ethical and Moral Guidance
Cultural Preservation
Personal Transformation

Philosophical and Religious Traditions

Most of the major philosophical and religious traditions are influenced by the teachings of sages.

There are numerous ancient figures such as Laozi, Confucius, and Rumi.

Sages belong to indigenous cultures and religions.

This is why their teachings served as the foundation for different social and religious factions.

Ethical and Moral Guidance

Sages are known to have valuable ethical and moral knowledge.

Through their ethical guidance, they can offer principles that serve as ethical compasses for societies and individuals.

Sages promote the importance of different aspects of ethical and moral elements.

These include:

Honesty
Integrity
Compassion
Respect for all the creatures

Cultural Preservation

Sages have also served as the custodians of various cultures.

They have helped preserve ancient rituals and traditions.

This is due to the cultural preservation by sages that are still attached to our cultural values.

Personal Transformation

Sages have a clear wisdom, which has guided and inspired countless individuals.

It has helped them during their journeys toward transformation and self-discovery.

Their teachings have provided insights into the universe and inner self.

This helped the seekers toward a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Please enjoy this compilation of Sage quotes!

Top 10 Sage Quotes

Listed here are the top 10 profound quotes about Sages.

1. “He thought as a sage, though he felt like a man.” — James Beattie

2. “Knowledge is silver, but true wisdom is gold.” — Matshona Dhliwayo

3. “Let a fool hold his tongue, and he will pass for a sage.” — Publilius Syrus

4. “The torch of doubt and chaos, this is what the sage steers by.” — Zhuangzi

5. “Whether it be a sage or a king, all have been borne by women.” — Milkha Singh

6. “Do not speak unless you can improve on silence, said a Buddhist sage.” — Tim Ward

7. “Whatever poet, orator or sage may say of it, old age is still old age.” — Sinclair Lewis

8. “He who sees in every being his own Self is a Pandita (sage).” — Swami Vivekananda

9. “And we are not mountaintop sages who can live by consuming mist.” — Mineko Iwasaki

10. “The flame is not as bright to itself as it is to those it illuminates: so too the sage.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

Sage Quotes from Philosophers

Gain insight into the minds of some of history’s most profound philosophers with the help of these insightful quotes.

11. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates

12. “To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.” — Confucius

13. “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” — Epictetus

14. “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

15. “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” — Democritus

16. “Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend.” — Hypatia of Alexandria

17. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river, and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus

18. “Success tends to create pride and blindness in the hearts of men while suffering teaches them to be patient and strong.” — Xenophon

19. “The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure, but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity.” — Epicurus

20. “The life of money-making is one undertaken under compulsion, and wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.” — Aristotle

Insightful Sage Quotes

Discover the wisdom and a sense of inner peace with the help of this collection of enlightening, insightful sage quotes.

21. “Love is done when Loves begun, Sages say, But have Sages known?” — Emily Dickinson

22. “It is impossible for light not to get noticed, especially in the dark.” — Matshona Dhliwayo

23. “The sage says that all that is under heaven incurs the same law and the same fate.” — Michel de Montaigne

24. “He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything.” — Baltasar Gracian

25. “The sage belongs to the same obsolete repertory as the virtuous maiden and the enlightened monarch.” — Mason Cooley

26. “Ripen your mind to the glorious history of the ages and revel in your mastery as today’s youth shall look upon you as a sage.” — Maximillian Degenerez

27. “As a water bead on a lotus leaf, as water on a red lily, does not adhere, so the sage does not adhere to the seen, the heard, or the sensed.” — Gautama Buddha

28. “Although you may spend your life killing, you will not exhaust all your foes. But if you quell your own anger, your real enemy will be slain.” — Lu-Trub Nagarjuna

29. “Human nature and deliberate effort must unite, and then the reputation of the sage and the work of unifying all under Heaven are thereupon brought to completion.” — Xun Kuang

30. “If time and space, as sages say, Are things which cannot be, The sun which does not feel decay No greater is than we. So why, Love, should we ever pray To live a century? The butterfly that lives a day Has lived an eternity.” — T. S. Eliot

Sage Quotes from Lao Tzu

This is an everlasting collection of sage quotes on the philosophical insights and spiritual wisdom of the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu.

31. “The sage acts by doing nothing.” — Lao Tzu

32. “The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.” — Lao Tzu

33. “The sage attends to the belly, and not to what he sees.” — Lao Tzu

34. “The sage is one with the world and lives in harmony with it.” —Lao Tzu

35. “A sage is not only kind to the kind but also kind to the unkind.” — Lao Tzu

36. “The sage does not strive to be great. Thereby he can accomplish the great.” — Lao Tzu

37. “The sage never strives for greatness, and can therefore accomplish greatness.” —Lao Tzu

38. “The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.” — Lao Tzu

39. “Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved.” — Lao Tzu

40. “The sage does not accumulate (for himself). The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself.” — Lao Tzu

Quotes on Sage Advice

These quotes recognize the value of good, or “sage” advice.

41. “Don’t do that? This is your sage advice?” “Yeah.” — Mary Calmes

42. “Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.” — Harper Lee

43. “The best entrepreneurs know when to ignore sage advice.” — Sarah Lacy

44. “There is wisdom out there that can’t be relayed in musings or sage advice.” — Lance Conrad

45. “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” —Oscar Wilde

46. “I knew what the story behind ‘Dreams’ was. It was about Stevie Knicks’ relationship. But when I sing it, it’s about sharing some sage advice with somebody.” — Dianne Reeves

47. “She’d even violated the only sensible rule of dieting she’d ever run across, the sage advice of the Muppets’ Miss Piggy, who recommended never eating anything bigger than your head.” — Susan Donovan

48. “Cultivating a strong group of personal directors takes time and commitment. For me, it took more than 10 years to find a diverse group that could give me sage advice when I needed it most.” — Margo Georgiadis

49. “I was in my recliner bundled up in my terrycloth robe, a gift from my great aunt Maureen, that came with some sage advice: darling, after a warm body, a terrycloth robe is the next best thing to cuddle up with on a cold night.” — Suzanne M. Trauth

50. “You know, I’ve always been a writer who wants to write about my experiences. And so this experience being added to that, I – I want to live extraordinary experiences. And when I give advice to people, I want it to be sage advice.” — Jason Mraz