"Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune but great minds rise above them."

Wisdom

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Wisdom as articulated by Washington Irving. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Wisdom provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), both of which appear in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of the writer Oliver Goldsmith, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and also first U.S. president George Washington, as well as several histories of 15th-century Spain that deal with topics such as the Alhambra palace, Christopher Columbus European discovery of the Americas, and the Reconquista. Irving served as the American ambassador to Spain in the 1840s.

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More by Washington Irving

"Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding together in turbulent mobs? No - no, your lean, hungry men who are continually worrying society, and setting the whole community by the ears."

— Washington Irving
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"There is never jealousy where there is not strong regard."

— Washington Irving
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"A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands. But a mother's love endures through all."

— Washington Irving
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"Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart."

— Washington Irving
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More about Wisdom

"Wisdom principle 28 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 24."

— Jim Aikin
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"I've never done a teen movie before, but I certainly could tell you some of the ones I came very close on. I was very close on Clueless and She's All That."

— Mia Kirshner
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"Well, I've just gotten accustomed to just being in Canada for five and a half months a year."

— Anthony Michael Hall
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"Every man is the architect of his own fortune."

— Appius Claudius Caecus
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