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If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.
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“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.”

James

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Source
King James Bible — James 1:5
Date
1611
English wording
King James Version translation committees · from Biblical Hebrew / Aramaic / Koine Greek
Meaning

Meaning of “If any of you lack wisdom, let him…”

The verse treats wisdom as something worth actively seeking and asking for rather than assuming one already possesses enough.

Source context

Where does it come from?

James 1:5, King James Version.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

CuriosityLearning Quotes About Curiosity, Study & ExperienceLifeLife LessonsShortWisdom Quotes About Judgment & Living WellFaithGodKnowledgePrayerSpiritualWords of Wisdom: Practical & Philosophical Counsel
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All men by nature desire to know.
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“All men by nature desire to know.”

Aristotle · Metaphysics · c. 350 BCE
Meaning & context

Aristotle treats the desire for knowledge as a basic human tendency, giving curiosity a foundational place in the movement from perception toward understanding.

Source details

Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book I, Chapter I, W. D. Ross translation (1908), validated Wikisource scan leaf 21. 'All men by nature desire to know' opens the work before the discussion of sensation, memory, experience, art and knowledge. This remains ancient philosophy mediated by translation, not a modern empirical finding about cognition.

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He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.
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“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”

John Stuart Mill · On Liberty · 1859
Meaning & context

Understanding a position requires serious contact with competing arguments; familiarity with only one side can produce confidence without real comprehension.

Source details

On Liberty, Chapter 2; Mill argues for open discussion because opposing views expose weaknesses and sharpen understanding.

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If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
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“If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton · Letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1675/76 · 1676
Meaning & context

Newton credits earlier and contemporary intellectual work as part of what made his own advances possible, framing discovery as cumulative rather than wholly solitary.

Source details

Newton to Robert Hooke, Cambridge, February 5, 1675/76, represented by the Newton Project normalized transcription. The historical letter uses older spelling; this record follows the project’s normalized “farther” and “shoulders of giants” wording.

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Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
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“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.”

King James Bible · King James Bible — Proverbs 3:13 · 1611
Meaning & context

Happiness is connected with gaining wisdom and understanding, suggesting that a good life depends on discernment as well as circumstance.

Source details

Proverbs 3:13 in the King James Version; the verse begins a passage praising the value of wisdom.

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