Colleges don’t make fools, they only develop them.
—George Horace Lorimer (1867–1937) American Editor, Publisher, Philanthropist
If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
—Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English Novelist, Scriptwriter
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
You ask whether I have ever been in love: fool as I am, I am not such a fool as that. But if one is only to talk from first-hand experience, conversation would be a very poor business. But though I have no personal experience of the things they call love, I have what is better—the experience of Sappho, of Euripides, of Catallus, of Shakespeare, of Spenser, of Austen, of Bronte, of anyone else I have read.
—C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) Irish-born British Academic, Author, Literary Scholar
Flattery is never so agreeable as to our blind side; commend a fool for his wit, or a knave for his honesty, and they will receive you into their bosoms.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one.
—Moliere (1622–73) French Playwright
It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others, and to forget his own.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Men who know themselves are no longer fools; they stand on the threshold of the Door of Wisdom.
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British Essayist, Physician
I was young and foolish then; now I am old and foolisher.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
In life, each of us must sometimes play the fool.
—Yiddish Proverb
The company of fools may first make us smile, but in the end we always feel melancholy.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his way.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: it’s lovely to be silly at the right moment.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
In the vain laughter of folly, wisdom hears half its applause.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
The fool needs company, the wise solitude.
—Friedrich Ruckert (1788–1866) German Poet, Translator
The biggest fool in the world is he who merely does his work supremely well, without attending to appearance.
—Michael Korda (b.1933) English-born Writer, Novelist
None is a fool always, everyone sometimes.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
Greatest fools are the most often satisfied.
—Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636–1711) French Poet, Satirist, Literary Critic
There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.
—Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865–1923) German-born American Mathematician, Engineer
He who lives without folly isn’t so wise as he thinks.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
There are two kinds of fools: those who can’t change their opinions and those who won’t.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
Lord, what fools these mortals be.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
For one word a man is deemed wise and for one word he is deemed foolish. We should be careful indeed what we say.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
What the fool does in the end, the wise man does in the beginning.
—Spanish Proverb
The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the affairs of his neighbor.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
A fool often fails because he thinks what is difficult is easy.
—John Churton Collins (1848–1908) English Literary Critic
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