--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a…" description: "\"“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and burning things.”\" — James Morrow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg" --- # Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I… ![“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and burning things.” quote by James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg) > ““Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and burning things.”” [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Stoics valued wisdom, and the speaker aspires to attain it after ceasing self‑destructive behavior. **In simple terms:** Stoics sought wisdom; I aim to achieve it after stopping harmful actions. Key Takeaway Stop destructive habits to pursue wisdom. Themes philosophy self‑improvement Stoicism personal growth Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - self‑reflection - habit reform - goal setting Key Concepts virtue ethics mindfulness behavior change Questions to Reflect On - What habits are you breaking? - How will you measure wisdom? A Different Perspective Change may be difficult; requires sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sought Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sought-wisdom-1919844/) [Stoicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoicism/) [Stoics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoics/) [Stoics Sought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoics-sought-1919843/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-condition-1919845/) ## Related quotes > [Wisdom is a condition of consciousness rather than an attitude of mind. Wisdom is that state of being in which an individual finds himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manly-hall/wisdom-is-a-condition-of-consciousness-rather-than-an-attitude-of/) [Manly Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manly-hall/) > [“Death would not surprise us as often as it does, if we let go of the misbelief that newborns are less mortal than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/death-would-not-surprise-us-as-often-as-it-does-if-we-let-go-of-the/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Socrates was the chief saint of the Stoics throughout their history ; his attitude at the time of his trial, his refusal to escape,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/socrates-was-the-chief-saint-of-the-stoics-throughout-their-history/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The Stoics thought that a fundamental insight into human life is that some things are up to us and others are not, the famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-pigliucci/the-stoics-thought-that-a-fundamental-insight-into-human-life-is-that/) [Massimo Pigliucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-pigliucci/) > [“Some of the best things that have ever happened to us wouldn’t have happened to us, if it weren’t for some of the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-the-best-things-that-have-ever-happened-to-us-wouldn-t-have/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and many others speak of dying for the law, for one’s country, one’s friends, one’s family, even for the emperor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/plato-aristotle-the-stoics-and-many-others-speak-of-dying-for-the-law/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Great individuals find a way to transform weakness into strength. It’s a rather amazing and even touching feat. They took what should have held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/great-individuals-find-a-way-to-transform-weakness-into-strength-it-s/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“philosophers”—the ancient Stoics—even if they’d never read them.\* They had the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/philosophers-the-ancient-stoics-even-if-they-d-never-read-them-they/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [Stoics follow each other like sheep. Wanting glorification for their nature as to say they think they're cosmological leaders over nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/stoics-follow-each-other-like-sheep-wanting-glorification-for-their/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“The Stoics, by contrast, believed that we are essentially social creatures, with a ‘natural affection’ and ‘affinity’ for all people. This forms the basis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-j-robertson/the-stoics-by-contrast-believed-that-we-are-essentially-social/) [Donald J. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-j-robertson/) > [“The Stoics define wisdom to be conducted by reason, and folly nothing else but the being hurried by passion, lest our life should otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/the-stoics-define-wisdom-to-be-conducted-by-reason-and-folly-nothing/) [Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/) > [“The image of the Zen philosopher is the monk up in the green, quiet hills, or in a beautiful temple on some rocky cliff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/the-image-of-the-zen-philosopher-is-the-monk-up-in-the-green-quiet/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“And here lies the essential between Stoicism and the modern-day 'cult of optimism.' For the Stoics, the ideal state of mind was tranquility, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-burkeman/and-here-lies-the-essential-between-stoicism-and-the-modern-day-cult/) [Oliver Burkeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-burkeman/) > [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“The areas of great interest to the Stoics all make an appearance here: virtue, mortality, emotions, self-awareness, fortitude, right action, problem solving, acceptance, mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/the-areas-of-great-interest-to-the-stoics-all-make-an-appearance-here/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) ## More by James Morrow > [“I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted reminiscences. What does that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how-to-make-truman-famously/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [ “\[...\] as Kurt Vonnegut pointed out \[...\] the literary novel has become extraordinarily privatistic of late. It's as if the big issues (Does God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/as-kurt-vonnegut-pointed-out-the-literary-novel-has-become/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“A bonfire of the books. The thought curdles me. Some say my species is imperishable, but they lie, for ours is a chilling, provisional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/a-bonfire-of-the-books-the-thought-curdles-me-some-say-my-species-is/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“At last my liaison pulled up before a squat structure of poured concrete buttressed with steel, bleak and featureless, like a sepulcher for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/at-last-my-liaison-pulled-up-before-a-squat-structure-of-poured/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“(On stoicism) "As a matter of fact, the experiment has already started. Yesterday at lunch I had a smaller piece of pecan pie than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/on-stoicism-as-a-matter-of-fact-the-experiment-has-already-started/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“Unless I miss my guess, Yolly is about to become obsessed with horses. It's practically a stage on Piaget's developmental profile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/unless-i-miss-my-guess-yolly-is-about-to-become-obsessed-with-horses/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“Be happy to," I said, cringing to hear such a dumb, folksy locution escape my lips, then launched into my well-rehearsed precis. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/be-happy-to-i-said-cringing-to-hear-such-a-dumb-folksy-locution/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“...God's penis would still rank high among those vistas a priest and a nun could not comfortably share.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/god-s-penis-would-still-rank-high-among-those-vistas-a-priest-and-a/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“4091 East Olympic Boulevard proved to be a nondescript one-storey sandstone building of the sort you drive blithely by every day, knowing it's full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/4091-east-olympic-boulevard-proved-to-be-a-nondescript-one-storey/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) [Explore all 10 James Morrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) ## More Stoicism quotes > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [“The areas of great interest to the Stoics all make an appearance here: virtue, mortality, emotions, self-awareness, fortitude, right action, problem solving, acceptance, mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/the-areas-of-great-interest-to-the-stoics-all-make-an-appearance-here/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“You should, I need hardly say, live in such a way that there is nothing which you could not as easily tell your enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/you-should-i-need-hardly-say-live-in-such-a-way-that-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself, "I have to go to work - as a human being. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/at-dawn-when-you-have-trouble-getting-out-of-bed-tell-yourself-i-have/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Stoicism sure comes in handy when they take away your underpants. But how to reconcile it with one's insatiable need for other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/stoicism-sure-comes-in-handy-when-they-take-away-your-underpants-but/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Stoic ethics is a species of eudaimonism. Its central, organizing concern is about what we ought to do or be to live well—to flourish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-c-becker/stoic-ethics-is-a-species-of-eudaimonism-its-central-organizing/) [Lawrence C. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-c-becker/) > [Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man's ability to stop just where he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/nothing-to-my-way-of-thinking-is-a-better-proof-of-a-well-ordered/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“Quietism, Buddhism, and other religions, everything which denies the flesh—is the great inferiority to God in ourselves, an escapism seeking sanctuary through fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/quietism-buddhism-and-other-religions-everything-which-denies-the/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [“You should … live in such a way that there is nothing which you could not as easily tell your enemy as keep to yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/you-should-live-in-such-a-way-that-there-is-nothing-which-you-could/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > [See, I don’t expect to win a prize for stoic control and dignity at mourning time. Death deserve tantrums. Beating back shocked indignation, kicks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-dee/see-i-don-t-expect-to-win-a-prize-for-stoic-control-and-dignity-at/) [Ruby Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-dee/) > [“You can't find love because you think there’s always someone better one swipe away. "You think you’re discerning? You are treating connection like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lokesh-tuli/you-can-t-find-love-because-you-think-there-s-always-someone-better/) [Lokesh Tuli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lokesh-tuli/) > [“And here lies the essential between Stoicism and the modern-day 'cult of optimism.' For the Stoics, the ideal state of mind was tranquility, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-burkeman/and-here-lies-the-essential-between-stoicism-and-the-modern-day-cult/) [Oliver Burkeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-burkeman/) > [A stoic of the woods,--a man without a tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/a-stoic-of-the-woods-a-man-without-a-tear/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) > [“Stoicism as the ideal “personal operating system”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/stoicism-as-the-ideal-personal-operating-system/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) [Browse all 335 Stoicism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stoicism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and burning things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Morrow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-condition-that-i-myself-hope-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stoicism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-condition-that-i-myself-hope-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/james-morrow-40721_stoicism_above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-con_178949.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and…” — James Morrow", "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": "James Morrow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-condition-that-i-myself-hope-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-condition-that-i-myself-hope-to/#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 } } ] } ```