The attempt to combine wisdom ...

The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.
The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.

More phrases

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.
What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.
We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Quotes from the same author

It is characteristic of the military mentality that non-human factors ... are held essential, while the human being, his desires and thoughts-in short, the psychological factors-are considered as unimportant and secondary.
In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.
You can't blame gravity for falling in love.
One may say the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.
The human spirit must prevail over technology.