--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who knows himself is wise; yet have we…" description: "\"“He who knows himself is wise; yet have we no sooner acquired real consciousness of our being than we learn that true wisdom is a thing that lies far d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_consciousness_he-who-knows-himself-is-wise-yet-have-we_983903.jpg" --- # He who knows himself is wise; yet have we no sooner… ![“He who knows himself is wise; yet have we no sooner acquired real consciousness of our being than we learn that true wisdom is a thing that lies far deeper than consciousness. The chief gain of increased consciousness is that it unveils an ever-loftier unconsciousness, on whose heights do the…” quote by Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_consciousness_he-who-knows-himself-is-wise-yet-have-we_983903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_consciousness_he-who-knows-himself-is-wise-yet-have-we_983903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59b/maurice-maeterlinck-3952_consciousness_he-who-knows-himself-is-wise-yet-have-we_983903.jpg) > ““He who knows himself is wise; yet have we no sooner acquired real consciousness of our being than we learn that true wisdom is a thing that lies far deeper than consciousness. The chief gain of increased consciousness is that it unveils an ever-loftier unconsciousness, on whose heights do the sources lie of the purest wisdom.”” [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑knowledge reveals deeper layers of wisdom beyond mere awareness, showing that higher insight comes from exploring the unconscious. **In simple terms:** Knowing yourself opens deeper wisdom. Key Takeaway Explore beyond surface awareness. Themes self‑knowledge wisdom consciousness unconscious growth Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - meditation - therapy - creative work Key Concepts philosophy psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What unconscious patterns limit you? - How can you access deeper wisdom? A Different Perspective Depth of insight requires confronting hidden fears. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Deeper Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeper-consciousness-1676374/) [Increased Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increased-consciousness-1969716/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Real Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-consciousness-1908624/) [True wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-wisdom/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [The world is real. Consciousness is the illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-bruce/the-world-is-real-consciousness-is-the-illusion/) [Craig Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-bruce/) > [“Nature’s role is to arrest Man’s attention so he can hear that Voice from Heaven. And it has often worked as each of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-catherine-thomas/nature-s-role-is-to-arrest-man-s-attention-so-he-can-hear-that-voice/) [M. Catherine Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-catherine-thomas/) > [Wisdom is also a deeper consciousness of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/wisdom-is-also-a-deeper-consciousness-of-ignorance/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [“Skeptical scientists often point out, as Carl Sagan has, that the wonders of real science far surpass the supposed wonders of fringe science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/skeptical-scientists-often-point-out-as-carl-sagan-has-that-the/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The sorcerer is a Simple Realist: the world is real--but then so must consciousness be real since its effects are so tangible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/the-sorcerer-is-a-simple-realist-the-world-is-real-but-then-so-must/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [“Any computer that developed real consciousness was immediately identified by the Genesis subroutine and destroyed. It had been that way since the WikiWars a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rubens/any-computer-that-developed-real-consciousness-was-immediately/) [Michael Rubens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rubens/) > [The only thing that is fundamental (real) is consciousness itself; all else is virtual- i.e., a result of an exchange of information within consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/the-only-thing-that-is-fundamental-real-is-consciousness-itself-all/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) > [“are not truly real in the consciousness of human experience until they are unraveled and correlated, until their relevant facts actually become meaning through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urantia-foundation/are-not-truly-real-in-the-consciousness-of-human-experience-until/) [Urantia Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urantia-foundation/) > [“I do nothing, with as little shame as satisfaction. It is the state that suits me best. I write the odd poem when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-do-nothing-with-as-little-shame-as-satisfaction-it-is-the-state/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [True wisdom gives the only possible answer at any given moment, and that night, going back to bed was the only possible answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/true-wisdom-gives-the-only-possible-answer-at-any-given-moment-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [What you know, you know, what you don't know, you don't know. This is true wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/what-you-know-you-know-what-you-don-t-know-you-don-t-know-this-is/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arliss/humility-is-the-only-true-wisdom-by-which-we-prepare-our-minds-for/) [George Arliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arliss/) > [“Knowledge is true strength. Understanding is true might. Wisdom is true power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/knowledge-is-true-strength-understanding-is-true-might-wisdom-is-true/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) ## More by Maurice Maeterlinck > [Happiness is rarely absent; it is we that know not of its presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/happiness-is-rarely-absent-it-is-we-that-know-not-of-its-presence/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [He who sees without loving is only straining his eyes in the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/he-who-sees-without-loving-is-only-straining-his-eyes-in-the-darkness/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [We are never the same with others as when we are alone. We are different, even when we are in the dark with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/we-are-never-the-same-with-others-as-when-we-are-alone-we-are/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [The living are just the dead on holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-living-are-just-the-dead-on-holiday/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“I believe that poems die the moment they are outwardly expressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/i-believe-that-poems-die-the-moment-they-are-outwardly-expressed/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossway-on-the-road-that-leads-to-the-future-each/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Our lives must be spent seeking our God, for God hides; but His artifices, once they be known, seem so simple and smiling! From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/our-lives-must-be-spent-seeking-our-god-for-god-hides-but-his/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“The angels that dry our eyes bear the form and the features of all we have said and thought—above all, of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/the-angels-that-dry-our-eyes-bear-the-form-and-the-features-of-all-we/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [What man is there that does not laboriously, though all unconsciously, himself fashion the sorrow that is to be the pivot of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/what-man-is-there-that-does-not-laboriously-though-all-unconsciously/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“For it is our most secret desire that governs and dominates all. If your eyes look for nothing but evil, you will always see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/for-it-is-our-most-secret-desire-that-governs-and-dominates-all-if/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [It is not from reason that justice springs, but goodness is born of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/it-is-not-from-reason-that-justice-springs-but-goodness-is-born-of/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [To disdain today is to prove that yesterday has been misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/to-disdain-today-is-to-prove-that-yesterday-has-been-misunderstood/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/at-every-crossroads-on-the-path-that-leads-to-the-future-tradition/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [“Niemand is waarlijk mijn vriend, voordat we geleerd hebben in elkanders tegenwoordigheid te zwijgen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/niemand-is-waarlijk-mijn-vriend-voordat-we-geleerd-hebben-in/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) [Explore all 114 Maurice Maeterlinck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) ## More Consciousness quotes > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/) [Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/) > [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. 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Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He who knows himself is wise; yet have we no sooner acquired real consciousness of our being than we learn that true wisdom is a thing that lies far deeper than consciousness. 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