--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man." description: "\"Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man.\" — William Penn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png" --- # Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man. ![“Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man.” quote by William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png) > “Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man.” [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cunning is to the wise what an ape is to a man—primitive versus refined intellect. **In simple terms:** Cunning is primitive intellect. Key Takeaway Cultivate wisdom over cunning. Themes wisdom intellect ethics Mood reflective instructive Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - leadership - decision making - conflict resolution Key Concepts evolution of thought moral development Questions to Reflect On - When is cunning appropriate? - How does wisdom improve outcomes? A Different Perspective Cunning can be useful in survival. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cunning/) [Cunning Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cunning-wise-3696323/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise Ape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-ape-4893968/) ## Related quotes > [Be neither silly, nor cunning, but wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/be-neither-silly-nor-cunning-but-wise/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You have the effrontery to be squeamish, it thought at him. But we were dragons. We were supposed to be cruel, cunning, heartless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-have-the-effrontery-to-be-squeamish-it-thought-at-him-but-we-were/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The cunning man steals a horse, the wise man lets him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-cunning-man-steals-a-horse-the-wise-man-lets-him-alone/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Life is the school of the wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/life-is-the-school-of-the-wise/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Sum up at night what thou hast done by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/sum-up-at-night-what-thou-hast-done-by-day/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nature, being a wise and provident lady, governs her parts very wisely, methodically, and orderly: Also, she is very industrious and hates to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/nature-being-a-wise-and-provident-lady-governs-her-parts-very-wisely/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [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/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) ## More by William Penn > [Love grows. Lust wastes by Enjoyment, and the Reason is, that one springs from an Union of Souls, and the other from an Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/love-grows-lust-wastes-by-enjoyment-and-the-reason-is-that-one/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Once you've accumulated sufficient knowledge to get by, you're too old to remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/once-you-ve-accumulated-sufficient-knowledge-to-get-by-you-re-too-old/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [If thou wouldn't conquer thy weakness thou must not gratify it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/if-thou-wouldn-t-conquer-thy-weakness-thou-must-not-gratify-it/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Religion is the fear of God, and its demonstration good works; and faith is the root of both: For without faith we cannot please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/religion-is-the-fear-of-god-and-its-demonstration-good-works-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“Let us then try what love can do to mend a broken world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/let-us-then-try-what-love-can-do-to-mend-a-broken-world/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > ['Tis no sin to be tempted, but to be overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/tis-no-sin-to-be-tempted-but-to-be-overcome/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Perfect love casteth out fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/perfect-love-casteth-out-fear/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [By liberty of conscience, we understand not only a mere liberty of the mind, in believing or disbelieving this or that principle or doctrine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/by-liberty-of-conscience-we-understand-not-only-a-mere-liberty-of-the/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Content not thyself that thou art virtuous in the general; for one link being wanting, the chain is defective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/content-not-thyself-that-thou-art-virtuous-in-the-general-for-one/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [We are apt to be very pert at censuring others, where we will not endure advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/we-are-apt-to-be-very-pert-at-censuring-others-where-we-will-not/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [It is admirable to consider how many millions of people come into, and go out of the world, ignorant of themselves and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/it-is-admirable-to-consider-how-many-millions-of-people-come-into-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him... Those who will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/if-thou-wouldst-rule-well-thou-must-rule-for-god-and-to-do-that-thou/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [In the rush and noise of life, as you have intervals, step home within yourselves and be still. Wait upon God, and feel His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/in-the-rush-and-noise-of-life-as-you-have-intervals-step-home-within/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Be sure that religion cannot be right that a man is the worse for having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/be-sure-that-religion-cannot-be-right-that-a-man-is-the-worse-for/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) [Explore all 291 William Penn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) [J. Lee Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lee-thompson/) > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Penn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/william-penn-1104_apes_cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man-30_3021666.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cunning to wise, is as an Ape to a Man.” — William Penn", "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": "William Penn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Cunning to wise, is as an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/cunning-to-wise-is-as-an-ape-to-a-man/#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 } } ] } ```