“. . . I will not be sworn, but love may trans-form me to an oyster, but, I’ll take my oath on it, till hehave made an oyster of me, he shall never make me sucha fool.”— William Shakespeare
“Foolishness is more than being stupid, that deadly combination of arrogance and ignorance.”— Paul David Tripp
“I did not want to be taken for a fool – the typical French reason for performing the worst of deeds without remorse.”— Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly
“In any case, it seems to me that all over the world people nowadays prefer to judge rather than to understand, to answer rather than to ask, so that the voice of the novel can hardly be heard over the noisy foolishness of human certainties.”— Milan Kundera
“I was infatuated once with a foolish, besotted affection, that clung to him in spite of his unworthiness, but it is fairly gone now–wholly crushed and withered away; and he has none but himself and his vices to thank for it.”— Anne Brontë
“When I was foolish, I detested sagacity. I ate the fruits of my foolishness and ignorance. I thank God because I was once foolish. It was from my foolishness that I learnt and understood the true savour of sagacity.”— Ogwo David Emenike
“Knowing it without understanding it is enough for one to be qualified a fool;Understanding without relative adherence, masters one in foolishness.”— Caleb Ricketts
“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
“Passion often makes fools of the wisest men and gives the silliest wisdom.”— François de La Rochefoucauld
“And, conversely, she went on to herself, sneering at the Grand Duke’s palace, poverty is wasted on the poor, who never know how to make the best of things, are only the rich without money, are just as useless at looking after themselves, can’t handle their cash just like the rich can’t, always squandering it on bright, pretty, useless things in just the same way.”— Angela Carter
“If human foolishness had been as carefully nurtured and cultivated as intelligence has been for centuries, perhaps it would have turned into something extremely precious.”— Yevgeny Zamyatin
“Dzieje kultury wykazuj?, ze g?upota jest siostr? bli?niacz? rozumu, ona ro?nie najbujniej nie na glebie dziewiczej ignorancji , lecz na gruncie uprawnym siódmym potem doktorów i profesorów. Wielkie absurdy nie s? wymy?lane przez tych, których rozum krz?ta si? wokó? spraw codziennych. Nic dziwnego zatem, ?e w?a?nie najintensywniejsi my?liciele bywali producentami najwi?kszego g?upstwa. / The history of culture shows that foolishness is a twin sister of wisdom. It does not flourish on the fields of pure ignorance but on the fields tirelessly plowed by doctors and professors. Great absurdities do not flourish where one is busy with everyday life. No wonder that sometimes most vigorous thinkers come up with utmost stupidities. (Dziennik 1956, XIX, Thursday)”— Witold Gombrowicz
“He’s acting as foolish as a kitten… but then, everyone’s entitled to a little foolishness once in a while.”— Christopher Paolini