What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes?

Norman Douglas, with a tongue both sharp and contemplative, declared: “What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes?” In this question lies both mockery and truth. For wisdom, when stripped of mystery, often comes to us as simple sayings—truths so familiar that they sound almost dull, and yet so enduring that they never lose their power. Douglas reminds us that what men call profound is often nothing more than what has been repeated for centuries, clothed in new words but carrying the same ancient weight.

The meaning is double-edged. To call wisdom a gathering of platitudes may seem to belittle it, yet it may also exalt it. For the greatest truths of human life are simple: love is stronger than hate, pride leads to downfall, patience outlasts rage. These truths, worn smooth by repetition, become platitudes—but they endure precisely because they are true. What changes is not the truth, but our willingness to hear it. Thus, wisdom is not novelty, but remembrance.

History confirms this paradox. Consider the Proverbs of Solomon, repeated across generations: “A soft answer turns away wrath,” “Pride goeth before destruction.” To some, these may appear as mere platitudes, too common to stir the soul. Yet kingdoms and men have risen and fallen by their neglect. Their very simplicity has carried them across centuries, while more elaborate philosophies have crumbled into dust. In Douglas’s words, we see that wisdom often survives by being reduced to the common coin of speech.

This observation also warns against human pride. Many seek wisdom in complexity, in hidden doctrines or obscure theories, scorning the familiar. Yet in times of trial, it is not the complex that saves, but the old and steady truths. When nations are torn by strife, the reminder to love thy neighbor, though “platitude,” becomes salvation. When despair overwhelms, the reminder that “this too shall pass” is the anchor of the soul. The very power of wisdom lies in its simplicity.

Therefore, let the seeker not despise the platitude. For what is dismissed as commonplace is often the distilled essence of generations of experience. The wise man does not demand novelty but cherishes endurance, knowing that truth does not grow stale though it may sound familiar. Douglas’s words, though tinged with irony, contain a deeper teaching: that the heart of wisdom lies not in discovering new truths, but in living faithfully by the old ones.