In the vain laughter of folly, wisdom hears half its applause.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
The fool is always beginning to live.
—Common Proverb
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
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
The person who writes for fools is always sure of a large audience.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
—Anatole France (1844–1924) French Novelist
The fool has to do at last what the wise did at first.
—Italian Proverb
He is mad past recovery, but yet he has lucid intervals.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
I am patient with stupidity, but not with those who are proud of it.
—Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) British Poet, Literary Critic
A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
I was young and foolish then; now I am old and foolisher.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Men who know themselves are no longer fools; they stand on the threshold of the Door of Wisdom.
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British Sexologist, Physician, Social Reformer
People do not wish to appear foolish; to avoid the appearance of foolishness, they are willing to remain actually fools.
—Alice Walker (b.1944) American Novelist, Activist
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
The fool within himself is the object of pity, until he is flattered.
—Richard Steele (1672–1729) Irish Writer, Politician
He who lives without folly isn’t so wise as he thinks.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Solitude can be used well by very few people. They who do must have a knowledge of the world to see the foolishness of it, and enough virtue to despise all the vanity.
—Abraham Cowley (1618–67) English Poet, Essayist
He who knows he who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool, shun him; He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child, teach him. He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep, wake him. He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise, follow him.
—Persian Proverb
None is a fool always, everyone sometimes.
—George Herbert (1593–1633) Welsh Anglican Poet, Orator, Clergyman
A fellow who is always declaring that he’s no fool, usually has his suspicions.
—Wilson Mizner (1876–1933) American Playwright, Entrepreneur
The folly of all follies is to be love sick for a shadow.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
If a man fools me once, shame on him. If he fools me twice, shame on me.
—Chinese Proverb
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
Sometimes one likes foolish people for their folly, better than wise people for their wisdom.
—Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–65) English Novelist, Short-Story Writer
No one but a fool is always right.
—David Hare (b.1947) English Dramatist, Director, Film-Maker
It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
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
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 and his money are soon parted. The rest of us wait for tax time.
—Common Proverb