There s no fool like an old fool, as the saying goes; but just what, precisely, is wisdom? And who is wise? Wisdom has fascinated the human race for thousands of years; ancient authors sought to capture it in collections of proverbs and fables, while modern thinkers seek to uncover its essence. It has been thought about in many different ways and searched for in many different places. Philosophers have claimed to be lovers of it and scholars have always tried to define it, yet wisdom is as elusive today as it has ever been.

All societies have had to deal with the problems posed by the basic facts of human existence, such as love and death, and have sought wise solutions to them. Across the world cultures have believed that wisdom is something divine, and have attributed it to deities such as Sarasvati, Apollo, and Odin. In this book Trevor Curnow provides an introduction to wisdom in its many forms through human history. Giving new insight into what wisdom actually is, and where to find it, this book will interest all those seeking a word to the wise in their lives.

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Trevor Curnow is professor of philosophy at the University of Cumbria, UK. He is the author of Oracles of the Ancient, Ancient Philosophy and Everyday Life, and Wisdom in the Ancient World.