There are more fools than wise men, and even in the wise there is more folly than wisdom.
[Il y a plus de fous que de sages, et dans le sage même, il y a plus de folie que de sagesse.]
Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 2, ¶ 149 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:There are more fools than wise men, and even in the wise man himself there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902)]There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]There are more fools than wise people, and in wise people themselves there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]
Quotations about:
wise
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
If you realize you aren’t so wise today as you thought you were yesterday, you’re wiser today.
Olin Miller (fl. early 20th C) American humorist
(Attributed)
I much prefer the sharpest criticism of a single intelligent man to the thoughtless approval of the masses.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) German astronomer
(Attributed)
TOUCHSTONE: I do now remember a saying, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
As You Like It, Act 5, sc. 1, l. 30ff (5.1.30-32) (1599)
(Source)
Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Cunning,” Essays, No. 22 (1625)
(Source)
It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who never change.
[唯上知與下愚不移]
Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 17, verse 3 (17.3) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Soothill (1910)]
(Source)
Some scholars recommend reading 17.2-3 together (I don't get it), and some actually merge them into a single verse; that is noted below. (Source (Chinese)). Alternate translations:There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed.
[tr. Legge (1861)]Only the supremely wise and the most deeply ignorant do not alter.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]It is only men of the highest understanding and men of the grossest dullness, who do not change.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]There are two classes that never change: the supremely wise and the profoundly stupid.
[Source (1906)]Only the wisest and the dullest never change.
[tr. Soothill (1910), Alternate 1]Only the uppermost wise and the lowermost stupid do not change.
[tr. Soothill (1910), Alternate 2]Only those of highest intelligence, and lowest simplicity do not shift.
[tr. Pound (1933)]It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who cannot change.
[tr. Waley (1938)]Only the highest and the lowest characters don’t change.
[tr. Lin Yutang (1938)]The only ones who do not change are sages and idiots.
[tr. Ware (1950), 17.2]It is only the most intelligent and the most stupid who are not susceptible to change.
[tr. Lau (1979)]Only the most intelligent and the most stupid do not change.
[tr. Dawson (1993), 17.2]Only the wisest and the stupidest never change.
[tr. Leys (1997)]Only the highest of the wise and the lowest of the stupid do not change.
[tr. Huang (1997), 17.2]Only the super wisdom and the infer stupidness cannot be changed.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), #443]Only the most wise (zhi) and the most stupid do not move.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]It is the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity that do not change.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998), 17.2b]Those of the loftiest wisdom and those of the basest ignorance: they alone never change.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]Only the highest among the wise and the lowest among the stupid never change.
[tr. Watson (2007)]Only the most intelligent and the most stupid are not inclined to change.
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]Only superior wisdom and extreme stupidity cannot be changed.
[tr. Li (2020)]Only the supremely wise and the most deeply ignorant do not alter.
[Source]Only the supremely wise and the abysmally ignorant do not change.
