Quote by Ambrose Bierce
Experience - the wisdom that enables us to recognise in an undesirable old acquaintance the folly that we have already embraced.
Summary
This quote suggests that experience brings us the wisdom to recognize the foolishness in someone we once knew and may now find undesirable. It implies that as we grow older and wiser, we reflect on our own past mistakes and recognize similar faults in others. This recognition enables us to distance ourselves from past folly and make better choices in the present. In essence, experience allows us to learn from our own errors and avoid repeating them, while also being astute in identifying those same errors in others.