Wisdom

The words of this old print read, in modern English: 'He over all the stars does reign That unto wisdom can attain'. In other words, 'Whoever can become wise will rule over everything.'

Wisdom is knowing things that help a person to live sensibly and make good decisions. Wisdom is defined differently by many cultures. Some say that wisdom is something a person learns as they grow older. Other cultures expect people to complete certain rituals in order to get wisdom.

If someone has wisdom, they are called wise. Most cultures from the past have had special people who were supposed to be wise. They were asked for advice about problems, because they knew things that ordinary people did not know or could not know. They were often called sages. In many stories in Western culture, the owl of Athena or Minerva is supposed to be a wise bird.