Fool Foolish Quotes & Sayings

Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit. — William Shakespeare

Ideas are somewhat like babies
they are born small, immature, and shapeless. They are promise rather than fulfillment. In the innovative company executives do not say, "This is a damn-fool idea." Instead they ask, "What would be needed to make this embryonic, half-baked, foolish idea into something that makes sense, that is an opportunity for us? — Peter Drucker

Learning makes the wise wiser and the fool more foolish. — John Ray

And, beginning to grind his teeth again, Pyotr Petrovich admitted that he'd been a fool
but only to himself, of course. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fools die happy. The happy die young. The young die foolish. — Alex Gaskarth

Nothing wrong with looking like a fool if what you are doing is far from foolish. — Paulo Coelho

Journeys end in lovers meeting; I have spent an all but sleepless night, I have told lies and made a fool of myself, and the very air tastes like wine. I have been frightened half out of my foolish wits, but I have somehow earned this joy; I have been waiting for it for so long. — Shirley Jackson

A lot of the situations that we put ourselves in are similar to a cat in a yard full of dogs. We rarely ask ourselves how we got here, (which doesn't help with the question of how we get out of here), all of which rarely keeps us from finding ourselves in the next yard asking the same questions. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

Patriotism is the passion of fools and the most foolish of passions. — Arthur Schopenhauer

When wisdom gives way to whimsy and ethics fall to excitement, it is highly likely that the ground beneath me will 'give way' and it is I who will 'fall. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

A fool more foolish than most had once jested that even Lord Tywin's shit was flecked with gold. Some said the man was still alive, deep in the bowels of Casterly Rock. — George R R Martin

Things that are truly great need nothing from me, and to somehow think that they do speaks to my utter lack of greatness. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

His lips parted. "Couldn't fool you for that long, I guess."
I squeezed my eyes shut, but a tear wiggled its way free, gliding down my cheek.
"Don't cry." He caught the tear with his finger as he pressed his forehead against mine. "Please. I hate when you cry because of me."
"I'm sorry. I don't want to be all weepy." I wiped at my cheeks, feeling foolish. "It's just that ... I never did know."
Aiden clasped the sides of my face, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. "I wanted a piece of you with me always. No matter what."
I shuddered. "But I don't ... I don't have anything of you."
"Yes, you do." Aiden brushed his lips over my damp cheek. A soft smile filled his voice. "You'll have a piece of my heart - all of it, really. Forever. Even if your heart belongs to someone else. — Jennifer L. Armentrout

Some take pains to be biblical, but many [Christian financial teachers, writers, investment counselors, and seminar leaders] simply parrot their secular colleagues. Other than beginning and ending with prayer, mentioning Christ, and sprinkling in some Bible verses, there's no fundamental difference. They reinforce people's materialist attitudes and lifestyles. They suggest a variety of profitable plans in which people can spend or stockpile the bulk of their resources. In short, to borrow a term from Jesus, some Christian financial experts are helping people to be the most successful 'rich fools' they can be. — Randy Alcorn

In order to share one's true brilliance one initially has to risk looking like a fool: genius is like a wheel that spins so fast, it at first glance appears to be sitting still. — Criss Jami

A fool is a thorn in his own flesh,
and day after day his wounds worsen.
The more he serves folly,
the more foolish he becomes. — Matshona Dhliwayo

Of course you want to drive that out of yourself because you want to be wise, not foolish. You also have to allow for the self-serving bias of everybody else because most people are not going to remove it all that successfully, the human condition being what it is. If you don't allow for self-serving bias in your conduct, again you're a fool. — Charlie Munger

A wise person can never be truly poor;
a foolish person can never be truly rich. — Matshona Dhliwayo

Only a fool would be fighting them, my queen, and though I am a fool, I'm not that foolish. (Lutian) — Kinley MacGregor

We want to 'write in' our plan and 'write out' the consequence. When we do that, we're headed 'right back' to what we foolishly thought we could 'write out. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

It is the fool who declares 'I am ascending the summit,' while he's toddling around in the ditch. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

God's Fool

If loving God, celebrating God, loving life, being a servant, loving my neighbor is foolish then let me be a fool.

If loving God, celebrating God though art, poetry, song & dance is a fools game then let me be a fool.

If trusting Jesus is a foolish waste of time and energy then let it be known by one and all I shall waste everyday every dollar I shall waste time and eternity celebrating Jesus the one who loves and delights in me. — Charles W. Warner

A clever fool and a foolish wise man. — George R R Martin

There is justice nowhere for a fool. A fool they whip even in the Holy Temple. — Anzia Yezierska

The fool sees naught but folly; and the madman only madness. Yesterday I asked a foolish man to count the fools among us. He laughed and said, "This is too hard a thing to do, and it will take too long. Were it not better to count only the wise?" — Khalil Gibran

If you don't want to be foolish, don't try to fool anyone. — Debasish Mridha

I know you think me foolish, but then, I am the Fool. You know then I must be Foolish. — Robin Hobb

A sage is a former fool who has become tired of himself.
A foolish sage is one who forgets this.
Remember, or come full circle. — Vera Nazarian

Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those - regardless of their political party - who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

since the wickedness of the Evil One has prevailed so mightily against man's nature as even to drive some into denying the existence of God, that most foolish and woe-fulest pit of destruction (whose folly David, revealer of the Divine meaning, exposed when he said(9), The fool said in his heart, There is no God), — John Damascene

Royse Bergon: "I've seen your integrity in action. It ... widened my world. I'd been raised by my father, who is a prudent, cautious man, always looking for men's hidden, selfish motivations. No one can cheat him. But I've seen him cheat himself. If you understand what I mean."
Caz: "Yes."
R.B.: "It was very foolish of you to attack that vile Roknari galley-man."
Caz: "Yes."
R.B.: "And yet, I think, given the same circumstances you would do it again."
Caz: "Knowing what I know now ... it would be harder. But I would hope ... I would pray, Royse, that the gods would still lend me such foolishness in my need."
R.B: "What is this astonishing foolishness, that shines brighter than all my father's gold? Can you teach me to be such a fool, too, Caz?"
Caz: "Oh," "I'm sure of it. — Lois McMaster Bujold

People who smoke would have probably been regarded as fools or insane, if only a percentage of people who smoke smoked. — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. — Euripides

Any man, you'll soon learn, has an insurmountable need to blame someone else when he is made to look a fool. — Julia Quinn

You see I'm such a fool that I'm never afraid of appearing foolish. — Dorothy Day

I'd be foolish if I didn't return her interest." He puffed out his chest. "And no one has ever called me a fool."
Rosika's jaw tightened. She rubbed her temples. "I'm giving it some serious consideration. — Jess Schira

I love foolish people because I am not enough of a fool to not love them. — Debasish Mridha

If people are always comfortable with you, you're probably not telling them the whole truth. — Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel

I think any man in business would be foolish to fool around with his secretary. If it's somebody else's secretary, fine. — Barry Goldwater

The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them. — Criss Jami

If you debate the wise,
no matter how poor,
they will hearken to wisdom.
If you debate the foolish,
no matter how rich,
they will mock wisdom. — Matshona Dhliwayo

But you don't even like being a Fool!" "I hate it. But that's got nothing to do with it. If I've got to be a Fool, I'll do it properly." "That's really stupid," said Magrat. "Foolish, I'd prefer." The — Terry Pratchett

Publicity is just a foolish act done by wise people confidently, to fool the world. — Pratik Akkawar

Ivy returned his direct gaze with a particularly innocent smile. "The great advantage," she said, "of being thought silly, is that people forget and begin to think one might also be foolish. I may, Professor Lyall, be a trifle enthusiastic in my manner and dress, but I am no fool. — Gail Carriger

The wise are in the light,
moving forward;
the foolish are in the dark,
moving backwards. — Matshona Dhliwayo

Passion often renders the most clever man a fool, and sometimes renders the most foolish man clever. — Francois De La Rochefoucauld

There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions. — Charles Proteus Steinmetz

We should never hesitate to listen to a fool about life because life is pretty foolish as far as I can tell. — P. J. O'Rourke

Many foolish persons, wanderers from other parts, have the vain fashion of graving their names and the obscure places whence they come, upon its stones, which is silly and marketh the doer for a fool. — Mark Twain

Congratulations, he said. "That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen." His expression was a mix of awe and disbelief. "Ever. — Patrick Rothfuss

I assure you, an educated fool is more foolish than an uneducated one. — Moliere

The modern ignorance is in people's assumption that they can outsmart their own nature. It is in the arrogance that will believe nothing that cannot be proved, and respect nothing it cannot understand, and value nothing it cannot sell ... The next hard time is just as real to him as the last, and so is the next blessing. The new ignorance is the same as the old, only less aware that ignorance is the same as the old, only less aware that ignorance is what it is. It is less humble, more foolish and frivolous, more dangerous. A man, Old Jack thinks, has no choice but to be ignorant, but he does not have to be a fool. He can know his place, and he can stay in it and be faithful. — Wendell Berry

Foolish minds will entertain you, but confuse minds will irritate you. — Amit Kalantri

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. — Bruce Lee

Foolish: It's all foolish. Life is a farce a stupid, sickening farce played out by fools. — David Gemmell

If I don't fool you, I'm not doing my job as a magician.
If I make you feel foolish, I'm not doing my job as a human being. — Jerry Andrus

Acknowledging foolishness is a very powerful and important experience. We could almost say that being willing to be a fool is one of the first wisdoms. The phenomenal world can be perceived and seen proprerly if we see it from the perspective of being a fool. There is very little distance between being a fool and being wise; they are extremely close. When we are really, truly foolish, when we actually acknowledge our foolishness, then we are way ahead. We are not even in the process of becoming wise - we are already wise. — Chogyam Trungpa

Shame upon him who can look on calmly, and exclaim,
'The foolish girl! she should have waited; she should have
allowed time to wear off the impression; her despair would
have been softened, and she would have found another lover
to comfort her.' One might as well say, 'The fool, to die of a
fever! why did he not wait till his strength was restored, till
his blood became calm? all would then have gone well, and
he would have been alive now. — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

No man is so foolish but may give another good counsel sometimes; and no man is so wise, but may easily err, if he will take no others counsel but his own. But very few men are wise by their own counsel; or learned by their own teaching. For he that was only taught by himself had a fool to his master. — Ben Jonson

If you make a fool of yourself, you can do it with dignity, without taking your pants down. And if you do take your pants down, you can still do it with dignity. — William Shatner

A man is seated on top of a tree in the midst of a burning forest. He sees all living beings perish. But he doesn't realize that the same fate is soon to overtake him also. That man is fool. — Mahavira

Spencer Brown puts it) once they are discovered, are seen to be extremely simple and obvious, and make everybody, including their discoverer, appear foolish for not having discovered them before. It is all too often forgotten that the ancient symbol for the prenascence (i.e., prior to emergence state) of the world is a fool, and that foolishness, being a divine state, is not a condition to be either proud or ashamed of. — Alan W. Watts

I thought about life, about my life, the embarrassments, the little coincidences, the shadows of alarm clocks on bedside tables. I thought about my small victories and everything I'd seen destroyed, I'd swum through mink coats on my parents' bed while they hosted downstairs, I'd lost the only person I could have spent my only life with, I'd left behind a thousand tons of marble, I could have released sculptures, I could have released myself from the marble of myself. I'd experienced joy, but not nearly enough, could there be enough? The end of suffering does not justify the suffering, and so there is no end to suffering, what a mess I am, I thought, what a fool, how foolish and narrow, how worthless, how pinched and pathetic, how helpless. None of my pets know their own names, what kind of person am I? — Jonathan Safran Foer

Everything that I hold will eventually be gone. Subsequently, the quality of my life will depend on whether I choose to appreciate those things 'now' or wait until 'then. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

A fool always finds one still more foolish to admire him.
[Fr., Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire.] — Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux

Only foolish fishes wish to fly! — Israelmore Ayivor

There are two kinds of fools. One says, "This is old, and therefore good." And one says, " This is new, and therefore better. — John Brunner

My desires are foolish. The things I want are better kept to myself. The hand of silence is steady. The hard blade of silence is clean like night. The code is absolute. Silence is eternal and patient. Silence never makes a fool of itself like I have so many times. — Henry Rollins

This letter has gotten foolish, and I think you know how I detest looking like a fool. But still I do. For you. — Kiera Cass

To be full of yourself is to make a fool of yourself. — Ashly Lorenzana

I'd experienced joy, but not nearly enough, could there be enough? The end of suffering does not justify the suffering, and so there is no end to suffering, what a mess I am, I thought, what a fool, how foolish and narrow, how worthless, how pinched and pathetic, how helpless. — Jonathan Safran Foer

When enemies, the intellect and the heart only see one another as the hater and the fool. — Criss Jami

(Arbell)The ungrateful gorgeous bitch. — Paul Hoffman

Where in the Bible are we told in one verse not to do a thing and in the next to do it?

'Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.' Prov. xxvi. 4.

'Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.' Prov. xxvi. 5. — Samuel Grant Oliphant

I was foolish because I believed in you. You are a fool because you believe in yourself! — J. California Cooper

Count your blessings and be grateful not a great fool. — Habeeb Akande

I'm a fool, the new day rises on the world and on my foolish life: I'm a fool, I loved the blue dawns over racetracks and made a bet Ioway was sweet like its name, my heart went out to lonely sounds in the misty springtime night of wild sweet America in her powers, the wetness on the wire fence bugled me to belief, I stood on sandpiles with an open soul, I not only accept loss forever, I am made of loss - I am made of Cody, too - — Jack Kerouac

A foolish son has no advantage over an orphan. — Matshona Dhliwayo

Men like honesty when it favours them. — Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel

A man must consent to look to a foolish, innocent, adolescent part of himself for his cure. The inner fool is the only one who can touch his Fisher King wound. — Robert A. Johnson

Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows it? — Alec Guinness

Society's goal is to make us less foolish. From the cradle to grave the pressure is on: "Be normal!" Our inner fool may be shackled and caged by a world made to suppress it, but Jesus came to free the fool. — Mark Batterson

The best servants of the people, like the best valets, must whisper unpleasant truths in the master's ear. It is the court fool, not the foolish courtier, whom the king can least afford to lose. — Walter Lippmann

To forget is to render the pages of history as entirely blank, and the lessons of history as never taught. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

To the fool, he who speaks wisdom will sound foolish. — Euripides

If as an adult I have scolded and then silenced the child within me, I contend that I am neither an adult nor a child. Rather, I am just plain ignorant. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

The fool is not the man who merely does foolish things. The fool is the man who does not know enough to cash in on his foolishness. — Elbert Hubbard

And if my present actions strike you as foolish, let's just say I've been accused of folly by a fool. — Sophocles

A dog to vomit does turn,
A fool to folly but return,
The wise err and learn,
Gaining from each burn. — Munindra Misra

More times than I'm willing to admit I am my own worst enemy, which suggests that more times than I'm willing to admit I should allow God to be my own best friend. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

We often throw rocks not realizing that they're going to land somewhere. — Craig D. Lounsbrough

Like a great fool, I went ashore with them, and they gave me some cursed stuff they called gin, - such blasphemy I never heard! At first when they told me they had set up a great distillery of gin, I thought them very useful, clever, good men; for you know, captain, any nation might be converted by hollands; -but this was the unchristianest beastliest liquor I ever tasted, and it made me - as I feel now. Yet the foolish, idiot-people of the island think it very good, because it makes them mad-drunk, and they believe Heaven sent it; but it made me believe the devil had got amongst them. — Edward John Trelawny

A doctor who doesn't say too many foolish things is a patient half-cured. — Marcel Proust

A clever child brought up with a foolish one can itself become foolish. Man is so perfectible and corruptible he can become a fool through good sense. — Georg C. Lichtenberg

The Novelist, afraid his ideas may be foolish, slyly puts them in the mouth of some other fool and reserves the right to disavow them. — Diane Johnson

In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace. — Chinua Achebe

You are foolish, but without fools there would be no wisdom — John Colton

The pessimist may call the optimist a fool; but who is more foolish, the happy individual who expects more happiness or the one who fills his life with bitterness and has only more despair to look forward to? — Wayne Gerard Trotman

Call me a sentimentalist, but I like the idea of you in one piece. Besides, she's not the only one who might be interested in your tasty flesh.'
I tilt my head. 'Who told you I was tasty?'
'Haven't you heard that old saying? Tasty as a fool?'
'You made that up.'
'Huh. Must be an angelic saying. It's to warn the foolish about things that go bump in the night.'
'It's daytime.'
'Ah. So you don't deny that you're foolish? — Susan Ee

All men are frauds. Some, the wise, fool only others. Others, the foolish, fool only themselves. And a rare few fool both others and themselves - they are the rulers of Men — R. Scott Bakker