Advice

We give advice by the bucket, but take it by the grain.
~ William Rounseville (W.R.) Alger

Seek after skill, deep ignorance detest.
~ William Byrd, from Psalmes, Sonets and Songs of Sadnes and Pietie, Made Into Musicke Of Fiue Parts (1588). Care for Thy Soul as Thing of Greatest Price

Smile -- smile -- smile all the while,
And soon you will daily wear it:
Grin -- grin -- whate'er you are in --
And then you'll the better bear it.
~ William McKendree ("Will") Carleton, from A Thousand More Verses (1912). Advice to Others

In all the thousands of times I have asked other people for advice, I never yet got the advice I wanted.
~ (William) Wilkie Collins, Armadale (1866). Book II, Chapter III. Day and Night

A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice.
~ Bill Cosby, Fat Albert's Survival Kit (1975).

A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.
~ William Dargan, quoted in Seventy Years of Irish Life (1896).

Never show your teeth unless you can bite.
~ William Dargan, quoted in Seventy Years of Irish Life (1896).

Live in terms of your strong points. Magnify them. Let your weaknesses shrivel up and die from lack of nourishment.
~ William Young Elliot

Go back to reform school, you little nose-picker!
~ W.C. Fields

We all like telling people what to do, which is perfectly all right except that most people do not like being told what to do.
~ J. William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power (1966).

[T]hink, perceive, consider and create.
~ William H. Gass, from In the Heart of the Heart of the Country and Other Short Stories (1968). Icicles

Ah! Take my counsel, happy man;
Act upon it, if you can!
~ William Schwenck (W.S.) Gilbert, The Gondoliers (1889 opera). Act II

Do justly, that is to say; extinguish self, love mercy, cut utterly away all the pride and wrath, and all the cupidity, that make this fair world a wilderness ...
~ William Ewart Gladstone, in the Nineteenth Century (January 1886). Proem to Genesis: A Plea for a Fair Trial

Let me tell you something, kid. In the carny you don't ask nothing. And you'll get told no lies.
~ William Lindsay Gresham, Nightmare Alley (1946).

A man may allow himself to be enlightened on various points, even upon matters of expediency and duty; but after all he must determine his course of action for himself.
~ Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Letters of William Von Humboldt to a Female Friend, Vol. I (1849 translation). Letter XXII. September 10, 1828

I will go to a couple of guys if I feel they want help, but I don't like to go to guys when I feel I'm going to be rejected. Any ballplayer, if he ever came up to me and wanted me to help him, I would be there regardless of who he may be.
~ Willie Howard Mays Jr., The Associated Press (22 October 2002). Mays Wants to Be Known As 'Best'

People ask me what makes a great video-game player, and the truth is, you have it or you don't. It's in your DNA. If you don't have that, you'd better stay in school.
~ Billy Mitchell, in The Oxford American, issue 53 (Spring 2006). The Perfect Man

Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.
~ William of Occam, Occam's Razor Quodlibeta Septem (c. 1320)

Advice is sought to confirm a position already taken.
~ William Osler, quoted in Sir William Osler: Aphorisms from His Bedside Teachings and Writings (1950).

The wisest advice that can be given is, never to allow our attention to dwell upon comparisons between our own condition and that of others, but to keep it fixed upon the duties and concerns of the condition itself.
~ William Paley, Reasons For Contentment, Addressed To The Labouring Part Of The British Public (sermon given in 1790; published in 1793).

We are apt to be very pert at censuring others, where we will not endure advice ourselves.
~ William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude (1693). Part I. Censoriousness

Do routine things routinely well. Handle problems right now. Do something on every project every day. Be brave. Be kind. Be bold.
~ Bill Purdin, Legend, Inc. (accessed May 2003). Quote Archives.

Hear much, but speak little.
~ William Ramesey, from The Gentlemans Companion: or, a Character of True Nobility and Gentility (1672).

He who follows the advice of unprincipled individuals is a green man indeed.
~ William J. Macquorn Rankine, in Songs and Fables (1874). Fables. XI: The Green Man and Still

Never go to a dentist with blood in his hair. Never holiday in a country where they still point at planes.
~ William Rushton, quoted in Barry Cryer You Won't Believe This But ... (1998)

Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go.
~ William Shakespeare, Hamlet. Act III, scene i

Direct not him whose way himself will choose:
'Tis breath thou lack'st, and that breath wilt thou lose.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act II, scene i

For when we rage, advice is often seen
By blunting us to make our wits more keen.
~ William Shakespeare, A Lover's Complaint

Friendly counsel cuts off many foes.
~ William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part I

Full of wise saws and modern instances.
~ William Shakespeare, As You Like It. Act II, scene vii

Good counsellors lack no clients.
~ William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure. Act I, scene ii

Harp not on that string.
~ William Shakespeare, King Richard III. Act IV, scene iv

I pray thee, cease thy counsel,
Which falls into mine ears as profitless
As water in a sieve.
~ William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Act V, scene i

If they make you not then the better answer, you may say they are not the men you took them for.
~ William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Act III, scene iii

Men
Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief
Which they themselves not feel.
~ William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Act IV, scene i

Take heed o' the foul fiend: obey thy parents; keep thy word justly; swear not.
~ William Shakespeare, King Lear. Act III, scene iv

They'll take suggestion as a cat laps milk.
~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Act II, scene i

When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again.
~ William Shakespeare, King Lear. Act II, scene iv

One of the advantages of being a captain is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it.
~ William Shatner

I used to dance and my mother used to say, 'Don't go up the right side and come back on the right side, go up the right side and come back on the left -- alternate.'
~ Willie "The Lion" Smith

Vow to be valiant;
Resolve to be radiant;
Determine to be dynamic;
Strive to be sincere;
Aspire to be attuned.
~ William Arthur Ward

By golly, life's too darn short to waste time trying to please every meddlesome moron who's got an idea how I ought to be! I don't need advice! Everyone can just stay out of my face!
~ Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

There's no Walter Cronkite to give you the final word each evening.
~ William Weld, Graduation Address at Babson College (1995).

Make your words dance.
~ William Allen White, quoted in Selected Letters of William Allen White, 1899-1943 (1947). Preface

Find easy ways to prepare things based on your lifestyle. You can make cooking easier. But concentrate on what you're doing and don't overextend yourself. What's never listed in the recipe is the tension that occurs in the kitchen.
~ Charles E. (Chuck) Williams, in Woman's Day magazine (1 September 2003). Close Up with Chuck Williams

Don't join a gang. You won't find what you're looking for. All you will find is trouble, pain and sadness. I know. I did.
~ Stanley Tookie Williams, in Institute for the Prevention of Youth Violence "Tookie's Corner" (tookie.com). About Tookie

You got to take the crookeds with the straights.
~ August Wilson, Fences (1985). Act II, scene 5

Beware of dogmas backed by faith;
Steer clear of conflicts to the death;
Keep going; never stoop, sit tight;
Read something luminous at night.
~ Edmund Wilson, in Night Thoughts (1953).

Most men can counsel others; few themselves.
~ John Wilson, The Cheats (1662). Act I, scene ii

Think like a wise man but express yourself like the common people.
~ William Butler Yeats, Letter to Dorothy Wellesley (21 December 1935)