Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

The quote defines wisdom less as accumulated knowledge and more as foresight: the capacity to project likely outcomes before acting. “Anticipation of consequences” implies a practical, ethical intelligence—thinking beyond immediate desires or short-term gains to second- and third-order effects on oneself and others. It also suggests that judgment is inseparable from responsibility: to be wise is to weigh costs, harms, and unintended results, not merely to choose efficiently. In public life, the idea functions as a critique of impulsive policy and a call for prudence; in personal life, it frames maturity as the habit of imagining where choices lead.