--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in…" description: "\"Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.\" — Octavio Paz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg" --- # Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the… ![“Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.” quote by Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg) > “Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.” [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wisdom comes from balancing stability and change, embracing both. **In simple terms:** Balance stability and change. Key Takeaway Cultivate adaptability. Themes philosophy balance change Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - personal growth - organizational change - education Key Concepts dialectical thinking cognitive flexibility Questions to Reflect On - How to recognize when to hold steady? - What practices foster dialectical thinking? A Different Perspective Too much change can cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Dialectic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-dialectic-1005381/) [Dialectic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialectic/) [Fixity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixity/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Lies Fixity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-fixity-1005382/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wisdom Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom-lies-626740/) ## Related quotes > [“Certainly sand was not suitable for life. Yet, was a stationary condition absolutely indispensable for existence? Didn't unpleasant competition arise precisely because one tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobo-abe/certainly-sand-was-not-suitable-for-life-yet-was-a-stationary/) [Kōbō Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobo-abe/) > [“ There is in all things a pattern that is part of our universe. It has symmetry, elegance, and grace - these qualities you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/there-is-in-all-things-a-pattern-that-is-part-of-our-universe-it-has/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [In laying hands upon the sacred ark of absolute permanency, in treating the forms that had been regarded as types of fixity and perfection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/in-laying-hands-upon-the-sacred-ark-of-absolute-permanency-in/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Human beings were not well served by permanence or stasis. Obviously, if individuals were progressing, they were undergoing a series of presumably desirable alterations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/human-beings-were-not-well-served-by-permanence-or-stasis-obviously/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [If common sense has not the brilliancy of the sun, it has the fixity of the stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francisco-largo-caballero/if-common-sense-has-not-the-brilliancy-of-the-sun-it-has-the-fixity/) [Francisco Largo Caballero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francisco-largo-caballero/) > [“We have made a problem for ourselves by confusing the intelligible with the fixed. We think that making sense out of life is impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/we-have-made-a-problem-for-ourselves-by-confusing-the-intelligible/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“...we need to bear in mind that our opinion of other people, our ties with friends or family, have only the semblance of fixity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-need-to-bear-in-mind-that-our-opinion-of-other-people-our-ties/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Genius is but fine observation strengthened by fixity of purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/genius-is-but-fine-observation-strengthened-by-fixity-of-purpose/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [“I read a page of Plato's great work. I can no longer understand anything, because behind the words on the page, which have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-read-a-page-of-plato-s-great-work-i-can-no-longer-understand/) [Eugène Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [The fixity of a habit is generally in direct proportion to its absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-fixity-of-a-habit-is-generally-in-direct-proportion-to-its/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Our wisdom lies as much at the mercy of fortune as our possessions do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/our-wisdom-lies-as-much-at-the-mercy-of-fortune-as-our-possessions-do/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [I only know when I don't know a thing. My uncle has taught me that wisdom lies in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-only-know-when-i-don-t-know-a-thing-my-uncle-has-taught-me-that/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Vaheguru, forgive me, but a woman must choose the wisdom of lies over the dangers of truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-singh-baldwin/vaheguru-forgive-me-but-a-woman-must-choose-the-wisdom-of-lies-over/) [Shauna Singh Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-singh-baldwin/) > [Wisdom lies not in possessing knowledge - which quickly becomes outdated - but in perpetually seeking it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/wisdom-lies-not-in-possessing-knowledge-which-quickly-becomes/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [Wisdom lies in thinking. The spear-head of thinking is rationalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/wisdom-lies-in-thinking-the-spear-head-of-thinking-is-rationalism/) [Periyar E. V. Ramasamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/) ## More by Octavio Paz > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I thought that the world was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-thought-that-the-world-was-a-vast-system-of-signs-a-conversation/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Changes are inseparable from democracy. To defend democracy is to defend the possibility of change; in turn, changes alone can strengthen democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/changes-are-inseparable-from-democracy-to-defend-democracy-is-to/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Grace is gratuitous; it is a gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/grace-is-gratuitous-it-is-a-gift/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Death is the mother of forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/death-is-the-mother-of-forms/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [It is not proper to project our feelings onto things or to attribute our own sensations and passions to them. Can it also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/it-is-not-proper-to-project-our-feelings-onto-things-or-to-attribute/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Without democracy freedom is a chimera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/without-democracy-freedom-is-a-chimera/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“I went to the little window and inhaled the country air. One could hear the breathing of the night, feminine, enormous. ("The Blue Bouquet")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-went-to-the-little-window-and-inhaled-the-country-air-one-could/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [A glass pitcher, a wicker basket, a tunic of coarse cloth. Their beauty is inseparable from their function. Handicrafts belong to a world existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/a-glass-pitcher-a-wicker-basket-a-tunic-of-coarse-cloth-their-beauty/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Between going and staying the day wavers, in love with its own transparency. The circular afternoon is now a bay where the world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/between-going-and-staying-the-day-wavers-in-love-with-its-own/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Two bodies face to face Are at times two waves And the night is an ocean. Two bodies face to face Are sometimes two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/two-bodies-face-to-face-are-at-times-two-waves-and-the-night-is-an/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/solitude-is-the-profoundest-fact-of-the-human-condition/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“...you are you and your body of steam, you and your face of night, you and your hair, unhurried lightning, you cross the street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/you-are-you-and-your-body-of-steam-you-and-your-face-of-night-you-and/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) [Explore all 150 Octavio Paz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavio Paz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-change-but-in-the-dialectic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-change-but-in-the-dialectic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/octavio-paz-1790_change_wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-cha_1686059.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.” — Octavio Paz", "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": "Octavio Paz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-change-but-in-the-dialectic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/wisdom-lies-neither-in-fixity-nor-in-change-but-in-the-dialectic/#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 } } ] } ```