Are you looking for a great quote database? You’ve come to the right place. Since 2002, as the founder of Values of the Wise, I have been collecting, discovering, seeking, recording, organizing, publishing, and maintaining what is probably the most complete and richest quotation search engine around. Quotes about values, quotations about wisdom, ethics quotes, and proverbs and poetic stanzas that are “deep” are included in this awesome and unique quote database. I call it The Wisdom Archive, since most of the examples are, essentially, wisdom at their core. Read on to learn more about why this particular resource is indeed the best use of your time.
There really aren’t any “superficial” or “meaningless” quotes in The Wisdom Archive, unlike many other search engines. You won’t find subjects such as “New York,” “chocolate,” “money” “sex” or “sports.” Those subjects are fine, but I did my readings and investigating in less superficial areas. I have come across the work of hundreds of individuals, and collected quotations from thousands – but they all have one thing in common: they are about values, wisdom, ethics, personal growth, spirituality, meaning, existence, and so on.
Also advantageous is the fact that one can filter results by keyword, author, gender of the author, or ethnic/geographical background of the author. It can be amazingly precise. If you are looking for a quote by a black female from the United States on social justice, no problem! How about a North American male writing about physics? Absolutely. There are many Asian and American Indian and African and Jewish and Ancient Greek thinkers, authors, scientists, activists, leaders, and poets to learn about at your own pace. It’s self-education and life-long learning at its finest. You won’t find a “deeper” or more substantive quote database in the known universe. If you do, I want to know about it!
So yes, this quote database extraordinaire was built by quotes that were hand-collected primarily by myself. Mostly, these wonderful words of wisdom are gleaned from readings I have done in philosophy, psychology, personal growth, religious studies, existentialism, social science, sociology, politics, economics, and the like. I never sent out any robot to collect quotes from my competitors’ quote database. That just wouldn’t do! The subjects of the quotations range from A to Z, but I have been guided by this algorithm:
What do Gandhi, Einstein, Helen Keller, Howard Zinn, Nietzsche, Eleanor Roosevelt, MLK, Jr., Voltaire, Mother Jones, Francis Bacon, and Noam Chomsky have in common? Beneath the surface – beyond their gender, their era, their politics, their personalities – they have values of the wise in common.
That is, they are most known for seeking values such as truth, justice, peace, fulfillment, honor, equality, and so on. What I call the values of the wise. Those values and many others are the values that wise persons seek to cultivate within themselves. I maintain that we can become better, fuller, edified, and deeper by following those same values. What better way learn about these wonderful values than to read the words of wisdom left behind and brilliantly communicated by these incredible persons? That is the origin of the unsurpassed quote database I call the Wisdom Archive. Don’t just learn from one person, or from one philosophical point of view. Dig in and find out for yourself what moves you and be inspired!
How much does all this “value” cost? It is at no cost to you. You must therefore be inundated by pesky advertisements, right? No, not on Values of the Wise! Why do I do it like this, in an era when everything is “monetized” and it’s all about the bottom line? Two reasons. I want to do my little part to try to get wisdom out there into the world. All these authors throughout the millennia wrote and spoke and recorded what they did, and their words are precious and potentially very helpful. It would be a shame to put up any kind of barrier to their use, such as a $20 fee per month.
It’s the same reason I have given away over 700 of Values of the Wise’s books over the years – I want people to get the exposure to the wisdom first and foremost, and, secondarily, I am concerned with paying the organization’s expenses.
Which leads me to reason number two: my main goals are to provide you with an easy and productive quote database in the hopes that you will stick around long enough to become interested in one of Values of the Wise’s remarkable books (and/or e-books). The prices of those range from $3.99 to $19.99 and are available here.
I also am seeking support for Values of the Wise’s endeavors (basically, defrayment of expenses) by using a website called Patreon for that. Just like artists of old were “patronized” by wealthy individuals, today it is similar but much more democratic, and “crowdfunding” is a primary way artists and creative types such as myself are funded. If you feel you can support Values of the Wise for $3, $10 or some other amount per month, go to www.Patreon.com/valuesofthewise and learn what you will get in return!
So, in sum, the quote database called The Wisdom Archive is special indeed. The way it was created, why it was built, how it functions, and the user experience, are all very unique. Try typing in a favorite subject or historical figure and see what comes up! You, like myself, might just be surprised and get lost in the flow of life-long learning for a half-hour before you know it. That would be my great pleasure if that were so. Happy hunting!
