--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wisdom of our ancestors." description: "\"The wisdom of our ancestors.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg" --- # The wisdom of our ancestors. ![“The wisdom of our ancestors.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg) > “The wisdom of our ancestors.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that ancestral knowledge holds valuable insights for present decisions. **In simple terms:** Ancestors' wisdom guides us. Key Takeaway Seek guidance from past teachings. Themes heritage wisdom guidance Mood reflective respectful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - family decisions - community leadership - personal reflection - policy making Key Concepts Historical perspective cultural continuity Questions to Reflect On - How can we adapt old wisdom today? - When is tradition a hindrance? A Different Perspective Ancient advice may not fit modern contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestors/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-ancestors-444239/) ## Related quotes > [Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[T\]he wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/t-he-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-is-in-the-simile/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Your existence is a testament to the body wisdom of your ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-kinsey/your-existence-is-a-testament-to-the-body-wisdom-of-your-ancestors/) [Dalia Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-kinsey/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Are we being good ancestors?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/are-we-being-good-ancestors/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [We have either to progress or to degenerate. Our ancestors did great things in the past, but we have to grow into a fuller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-have-either-to-progress-or-to-degenerate-our-ancestors-did-great/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Our ancestors are looking for us even if we're not looking for them. And by our ancestors I mean our bloodlines and the ancestors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/our-ancestors-are-looking-for-us-even-if-we-re-not-looking-for-them/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [Moreover, my ancestors' souls are sustained by the atmosphere of the house, since I answer for them the questions that their lives once left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/moreover-my-ancestors-souls-are-sustained-by-the-atmosphere-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I have two Filipino nannies who have British passport and not me. I don't need British passport. When you were running around in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-al-fayed/i-have-two-filipino-nannies-who-have-british-passport-and-not-me-i/) [Mohamed Al-Fayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-al-fayed/) > [When I heard the truth about my name was not Cassius Clay, like I knew a black man in America named John Hawkins. 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We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-peterfreund/no-one-is-innocent-in-the-tide-of-history-everyone-has-kings-and/) [Diana Peterfreund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-peterfreund/) > [...I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sanchez/i-write-to-keep-in-contact-with-our-ancestors-and-to-spread-truth-to/) [Sonia Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sanchez/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## More Ancestor quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Food binds us to our roots as strongly as any song or poem. Many of us have learned more about our ancestors in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-thomas/food-binds-us-to-our-roots-as-strongly-as-any-song-or-poem-many-of-us/) [Anna Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-thomas/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [And I saw for the first time how, despite the isolation of our own lives, we are always connected to our ancestors; our bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/and-i-saw-for-the-first-time-how-despite-the-isolation-of-our-own/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [There is an ancient Indian saying: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." If we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/there-is-an-ancient-indian-saying-we-do-not-inherit-the-earth-from/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [It is how it has always been. We will accept the legacy of our ancestors,' Asha says, smiling, and in her smile I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/it-is-how-it-has-always-been-we-will-accept-the-legacy-of-our/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Browse all 767 Ancestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The wisdom of our ancestors.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/edmund-burke-400_ancestor_the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors-1400779_1400779.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The wisdom of our ancestors.” — Edmund Burke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The wisdom of our ancestors.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-wisdom-of-our-ancestors/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```