"The one knowing what is profitable, and not the man knowing many things, is wise"
About this Quote
Aeschylus shifts wisdom away from the hoarding of facts toward the art of discernment. The line pivots on the Greek sense of what is "profitable" not as mere money but as what is truly useful and advantageous, the kind of benefit that secures safety, justice, and flourishing for a person and a community. Ancient Greeks distinguished between knowing many things and phronesis, practical judgment that chooses the right means for worthy ends. Wisdom is measured not by volume but by relevance, priority, and application.
Tragedy repeatedly dramatizes how breadth without judgment leads to ruin. Leaders read omens or command armies yet fail to sense what will actually avert disaster; they possess information but not the calibration that weighs consequences. Aeschylus is reminding his audience that intellect unmoored from purpose can be dazzling and dangerous. The wise person recognizes what to attend to, what to disregard, and what to do now. That capacity requires moral orientation as much as mental acuity, because profit, in the highest sense, concerns the good of household and city, not private gain at any cost.
The aphorism also hints at humility. To know what is profitable is to accept limits: no one can know everything, but one can know what matters. It asks for a disciplined mind that connects knowledge to action and action to outcomes. Selectivity becomes a virtue. The ability to discriminate between what merely expands one’s repertoire and what actually advances a life is itself a form of insight.
In an age of information abundance, the line lands with fresh urgency. Expertise proliferates, but decisions still hinge on judgment. The wise cultivate a compass before they gather maps. They learn to pair curiosity with purpose, skill with context, and learning with the courage to choose. Knowledge fills; wisdom filters, aligns, and steers.
Tragedy repeatedly dramatizes how breadth without judgment leads to ruin. Leaders read omens or command armies yet fail to sense what will actually avert disaster; they possess information but not the calibration that weighs consequences. Aeschylus is reminding his audience that intellect unmoored from purpose can be dazzling and dangerous. The wise person recognizes what to attend to, what to disregard, and what to do now. That capacity requires moral orientation as much as mental acuity, because profit, in the highest sense, concerns the good of household and city, not private gain at any cost.
The aphorism also hints at humility. To know what is profitable is to accept limits: no one can know everything, but one can know what matters. It asks for a disciplined mind that connects knowledge to action and action to outcomes. Selectivity becomes a virtue. The ability to discriminate between what merely expands one’s repertoire and what actually advances a life is itself a form of insight.
In an age of information abundance, the line lands with fresh urgency. Expertise proliferates, but decisions still hinge on judgment. The wise cultivate a compass before they gather maps. They learn to pair curiosity with purpose, skill with context, and learning with the courage to choose. Knowledge fills; wisdom filters, aligns, and steers.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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