Sentence Sermons (Christian Inspiration) #126 --- Foolishness

The difference between the fool and the wise person is that the fool does not realize he is a fool, whereas the wise person is aware that he is a fool. The fool does not comprehend it when he has done fool things; the wise person does.

The fool sees no room for improvement in himself. The wise person sees plenty of room for improvement in himself.

To the fool, each new day is merely another day. To the wise person, each new day is another opportunity to begin life over again.

Call the fool’s attention to a fault in himself and he will want to kill you. Call the wise person’s attention to a fault himself and he will want to thank you.

The wise person works unceasingly to rid himself of fool thoughts and actions; but the fool is satisfied with himself. He and his foolishness are inseparable. As King Solomon put it, “Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”

But there is hope for the fool when he can look in his mirror and see a fool.

---Wickes Wamboldt, Waycross Journal-Herald, Waycross, Ga., Feb. 22, 1945.

The desire to attract attention is a perfectly normal expression of personality, and probably a worthy one. The difficulty lies in the fact that so many of us try to get attention by displaying our folly instead of exhibiting worthiness. The cheapest distinction any of us ever gain is that which comes to us through not effort of our own.

---Roy L. Smith, Miami Daily News, Miami, Fla., March 1, 1954.

Whoever thinks he can fool God has fooled himself already.

---Roy L. Smith, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 5, 1927.

Those who try to outwit the Almighty only succeed in fooling themselves.

---Roy L. Smith, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., May 19, 1932.

There are many kinds of fools in the world, but there is none so foolish as the one who thinks he can escape God.

---William T. Ellis, Schenectady Gazette, Schenectady, N.Y., Feb. 26, 1921.

The man who laughs at himself all the time is a fool; the man who never laughs at himself is a fanatic.

---Edward Howard Griggs, Troy Times, Troy, N.Y., Oct. 14, 1908.

Some people entertain the fool idea that a secret sin is not as wicked as the crime about which everybody has heard.

---Carl J.G. Brown, Atchison Daily Globe, Atchison, Kan., Jan. 26, 1922.

“Straightway” is a word frequently used in the Bible. It means that you should quit fooling around.

---Carl J.G. Brown, Atchison Daily Globe, Atchison, Kan., Feb. 5, 1918.

The wisest man is he who knows how big a fool he can be without trying.

---Henry F. Cope, St. Louis Republic, St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 26, 1905.

The smaller the fool the greater the folly may be.

---Henry F. Cope, Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, N.Y., May 28, 1905.

You will probably be dead a long time, but that is no reason why you should make a fool of yourself while living.

---Omer L. Downey, Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, Fla., Oct. 12, 1911.

The wise man knows he is a fraction; the fool tries to be the whole thing.

---Theophile Meerschaert, The Indian Advocate, Sacred Heart, Okla., January 1898.

It takes two fools to make flattery possible.

---Theophile Meerschaert, The Indian Advocate, Sacred Heart, Okla., October, 1899.

That man must be a confirmed fool who can be fooled twice by the same individual.

---James L. Gordon, Washington Herald, Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 1916.

The greatest fool is the fool who fools himself.

---James L. Gordon, Washington Herald, Washington, D.C., April 14, 1917.

Thinking about nothing is the same thing as being a fool.

---T.G. Pasco, The Citizen, Berea, Ky., Dec. 6, 1899.

Money makes fools of some men, while the lack of money has a similar effect in others; there is never any danger of a shortage of the fool crop.

---E.W. “Ed” Howe, Atchison Daily Globe, Atchison, Kan., Dec. 28, 1909.

There is little danger that your personal liberty is going to be curtailed to the extent of keeping you from making a fool of yourself if you are inclined that way.

---E.W. “Ed” Howe, Atchison Daily Globe, Atchison, Kan., Feb. 7, 1910.

The worse fool is a zealous fool.

---Eugene Alexander “Gene” Howe, Atchison Daily Globe, Atchison, Kan., Feb. 10, 1922.

We like to kid ourselves that we don’t fool ourselves.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., Aug. 26, 1931.

Pretending to perfection can succeed only to the extent of making a perfect fool of oneself.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., Sept. 11, 1955.

Few might be willing to pay cheerfully for their follies if they knew the price in advance.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., Jan. 31, 1960.

The Lord’s hand made us and the Lord’s hand keeps us from making wretched fools of ourselves.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., July 20, 1960.

The footloose usually are given to skating on thin ice.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., July 27, 1960.

There’s no fool like one who risks forfeiting the Lord’s friendship.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., April 6, 1961.

To take heaven for granted is to live in a fool’s paradise.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., June 23, 1961.

To see oneself in one’s own folly would be to recognize a perfect stranger.

---Edmund J. Kiefer, Buffalo Courier-Express, Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 1, 1962.

The man who knows he was one kind of a fool yesterday often has a suspicion he is some other kind of a fool today.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Arizona Weekly Citizen, Tucson, Ariz., May 30, 1891.

It is the worst of folly to lose sight of the work on earth while dreaming of the wages in heaven.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Baltimore American, Baltimore, Md., March 30, 1902.

It takes a very small fool to commit great folly.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Baltimore American, Baltimore, Md., May 4, 1902.

A fool will build a house without windows, and then blame God because he has to live in the dark.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Bolivar Breeze, Bolivar, N.Y., Nov. 2, 1894.

It is not necessary to act the fool in order to demonstrate that you are one.

---Elijah Powell Brown, The Broad Ax, Chicago, Ill., Oct. 12, 1901.

That half the world are fools is only the opinion of the other half.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Clackamas County Record, Oregon City, Ore., Jan. 26, 1903.

A fad is a tag on a fool.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Duluth Evening Herald, Duluth, Minn., Feb. 15, 1902.

The foolish bark at truth because it is a stranger to them.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Duluth Evening Herald, Duluth, Minn., April 19, 1902.

The wise man will hide his knowledge where fools are lying out their ignorance.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Duluth Evening Herald, Duluth, Minn., Nov. 15, 1902.

It is hard for a fool to understand why he is seldom overtaken by anyone going his way.

---Elijah Powell Brown, El Paso Times, El Paso, Texas, July 12, 1893.

The man is a fool who expects to prosper when he knows God is against him.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Ellicottville Post, Ellicottville, N.Y., March 14, 1894.

If men were taxed for their follies they would become poor before they would be wise.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Fulton County News, McConnelsburg, Pa., Sept. 5, 1901.

When a man makes a fool of himself he generally does the job well.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Geneva Daily Times, Geneva, N.Y., Dec. 19, 1898.

Jeering produces fearing only in the fool.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Guthrie Daily News, Guthrie, Okla., March 15, 1904.

The man who finds out that he has made a fool of himself has learned something valuable.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Herald and Tribune, Jonesborough, Tenn., Aug. 27, 1891.

A fool is always burning his fingers because he cannot remember that fire is hot.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Hull Index, Hull, Iowa, May 3, 1895.

A fool soon shows that he has an empty head by the questions he asks.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Lockport Daily Journal, Lockport, N.Y., Sept. 10, 1894.

It is no use blowing up folly unless you build up wisdom.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Polk County News, Columbia, N.C., May 21, 1903.

A shallow man may always see the face of a fool by looking into a deep well.

---Elijah Powell Brown, San Francisco Call, San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 16, 1897.

Don’t argue with a fool, of the listener will say there are a pair of you.

---Elijah Powell Brown, The Standard-Union, Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 1, 1890.

A word to the wise is sufficient, but a fool needs the whole book.

---Elijah Powell Brown, The Texas Miner, Thurber, Texas, Nov. 17, 1894.

A fool empties his head every time he opens his mouth.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Western Kansas World, Wakeeney, Kan., March 3, 1894.

When a man makes a fool of himself he generally does the job well.

---Elijah Powell Brown, Wichita Daily Eagle, Wichita, Kan., Dec. 28, 1897.

A lot of wisdom never gets a hearing because everybody has a previous engagement to listen to foolishness.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma Farmer, Guthrie, Okla., June 1, 1910.

The fool, at any rate, is always generous with his folly.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., June 23, 1908

You can get a fool to do anything by daring him to do it.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., July 28, 1908.

The trouble with fools is that they haven’t sense enough to keep from being found out.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Sept. 23, 1908.

There is no fool like the fool who is old enough to know better.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., July 15, 1909.

There are lots of different kinds of fools, and some fellows try to be all of them at once.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Nov. 7, 1909.

The practice of shooting folly as it flies is not regulated by the game laws.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Nov. 27, 1909.

It is almost as easy to make a fool of yourself as to tell others not to.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Dec. 1, 1909.

There are two kinds of fools—just plain, ordinary fools and highly educated fools.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Dec. 30, 1909.

Words are the making of wise men and the unmaking of fools.

---Frank Hilton Greer, Oklahoma State Capital, Guthrie, Okla., Sept. 25, 1910.

There is no fool like an old fool for luck.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Sept. 2, 1915.

Though all men are created equal, some take more advantage of opportunity, and thus they are enabled to make bigger fools of themselves.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Jan. 27, 1916.

We are reminded that there is no fool like an old fool, and yet we are admonished to respect age.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Feb. 7, 1916.

The wise man attends to his own business, but the fool is too concerned with the affairs of others to have time left for his own.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Feb. 29, 1916.

It takes a wise man to discover a wise man, but any fool can pick out a fool.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., June 2, 1916.

Only a fool builds fences around his opportunities.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Oct. 11, 1916.

For every wise man there is a fool to teach him.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Jan. 8, 1918.

A man never realizes how many different kinds of a fool can happen at one time until he loses his temper.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., April 22, 1918.

Just about half the people in the world are fools, but the two halves can’t agree which.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., June 14, 1918.

Fools build houses on air, wise men stick stones under them.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., June 14, 1918.

Fools examine troubles with magnifying glasses.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., June 21, 1921.

A wise man is he who, having nothing to say, says even less; and a fool is he who, having much to say, buys a megaphone.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Oct. 20, 1921.

Hard work is the only cure for idle folly.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Oct. 22, 1921.

The old fool continues to wear folly medals.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Jan. 13, 1922.

Every man is as great a fool as he thinks himself a sage.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Jan. 16, 1922.

Folly is worse than a hare for multiplying itself.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Feb. 4, 1922.

The fool digs deeper trying to climb out.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Feb. 14, 1922.

When a man finds out that he’s a fool, he’s a real discoverer.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., April 29, 1922.

The fool rarely convinces himself of folly.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., June 21, 1922.

A man never realizes how many different kinds of a fool he can be until he loses his temper over some trifle.

---Henry Edward Warner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va., Dec. 11, 1922.

It requires the beginning of folly, the beginning of lunacy, with two nothings in the middle, to spell fool.

---William J. Burtscher, The Taylor-Trottwood Magazine, Nashville, Tenn., November 1910.

The Paradise of Fools is a shadowy land called “Tomorrow.”

---John Wesley Holland, Livingston Republican, Geneseo, N.Y., Feb. 28, 1929.

The wise drop their follies into the sinkholes of Yesterday.

---John Wesley Holland, Livingston Republican, Geneseo, N.Y., Aug. 29, 1929.

He who sells his honor for pelf crams his pockets with fool’s gold.

---John Wesley Holland, Livingston Republican, Geneseo, N.Y., Oct. 10, 1929.

There is some hope for the man who knows he is a fool, but who strives to keep the knowledge to himself.

---Bennett Wilson “B.W.” Peck, Fulton County News, McConnelsburg, Pa., Feb. 19, 1903.

The man who makes a fool of himself only saves someone else the trouble.

---Bennett Wilson “B.W.” Peck, Fulton County News, McConnelsburg, Pa., May 7, 1903.

The worst about the people who make fools of themselves is that they seem to enjoy it so thoroughly.

---Bennett Wilson “B.W.” Peck, Fulton County News, McConnelsburg, Pa., July 29, 1903.

The foolish man thinks he can avoid meeting his obligations by turning his back on them.

---William Jennings Bryan, Canaseraga Times, Canaseraga, N.Y., Sept. 1, 1911.

It is safer to prove a man a fool than to call him one.

---Louis C. Hinman, The Citizen, Berea, Ky., Jan. 5, 1905.

The truly wise man constantly doubts his own wisdom, but the mind of the fool is always serene.

---Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 31, 1933.

The greatest fool under God’s footstool is the man who fools himself.

---George Herbert Utter, The Evening Tribune and Telegram, Providence, R.I., April 29, 1906.

The worst fools are those who worship a God in the hope of fooling him.

‑‑‑Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Aug. 22, 1909.

A fool is a fellow who insists on having all the fun there is, all in one day, so that he will be sure to have a raging headache all the rest of eternity.

---Nephi Jensen, Juvenile Instructor, Salt Lake City, Utah, November 1926.

The foolish virgins usually go back to conduct classes in the art of illumination.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Jan. 27, 1907.

The extremist would argue that it is the height of foolishness to sink to the depths of despair.

---Liston Dickson Elkins, Waycross Journal-Herald, Waycross, Ga., March 20, 1937.

Even along the road of gaining wisdom, man goes down the detour of foolishness occasionally.

---Purser Hewitt, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss., April 28, 1967.

When a man starts out to make a fool of himself, he pays no attention to the “Stop” and “Go” signs.

---Bert Moses, Lake Charles American-Press, Lake Charles, La., April 14, 1929.

Shielding a fool from the fruits of his folly is fostering his foolishness.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., April 18, 1909.

He who is in a hurry to be wise is apt to succeed in being foolish.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Feb. 11, 1906.

The fool always greases his track on the upgrade.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Feb. 10, 1907.

The fool has two extremely difficult tasks, to know himself and to keep others from doing the same.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Feb. 21, 1909.

It does no damage to be called a fool; the serious thing is to be satisfied with deserving it.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Aug. 15, 1909.

Following a fad is a short cut to folly.

---Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., May 16, 1909.

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain‑‑and most fools do.

‑‑‑Theodore L. Cannon, Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, Jan. 5, 1963.

A fool is a fellow who trades the prospects of a whole life of honorable happiness for the reckless fun of a day.

---Nephi Jensen, Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 4, 1928.

The recollection of the last time a fellow made a fool of himself is the beginning of wisdom.

---Nephi Jensen, Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 21, 1934.

Free speech and fool speech often come from the same throat.

---Bert Moses, Lake Charles American-Press, Lake Charles, La., July 10, 1930.

A fool is one who has just brains enough to keep his ignorance in a state of activity.

---Bert Moses, Lake Charles American Press, Lake Charles, La., Feb. 13, 1940.

A fool is one whose ignorance continues to grow on him without interruption.

---Bert Moses, Lake Charles American Press, Lake Charles, La., March 6, 1942.

Don’t let anyone fool you. Debts will have to be paid in the World of Tomorrow.

---Jack Warwick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pa., July 25, 1939.

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.

---Carl Shurz, Milwaukee Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wis., Feb. 20, 1960.

The sure sign of a fool is that he forgets his folly.

---Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Dec. 18, 1904.

No man is a hopeless fool until he has made a fool of himself twice in the same way.

---Chinook Opinion, Chinook, Mont., Nov. 24, 1938.

A wise man means all he says, but a fool says all he means.

---Chinook Opinion, Chinook, Mont., Nov. 29, 1951.

He must be a thorough fool who can learn nothing from his own folly.

---Christian Advocate, New York, N.Y., April 24, 1884.

Illusion is the dust the devil throws in the eyes of the foolish.

---Clarendon News, Clarendon, Texas, Aug. 31, 1933.

The prize egotist is the man who tells what a fool he used to be.

---Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, Tenn., Jan. 27, 1926.

To err is human, but to keep it up is foolish.

---Crowley Daily Signal, Crowley, La., March 29, 1924.

The fool hath said in his heart: "I am Solomon."

---Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, July 10, 1890.

More mischief in the world is caused by busy fools than by scoundrels.

---Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 11, 1963.

Some folks like to brag about how foolish they used to be--trying to convey the idea it's all in the past tense.

---Houston Post, Houston, Texas, Nov. 3, 1958.

A foolish person will ask more questions than a wise man can answer, and also he will answer more questions than a wise man will.

---Louisville Herald, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 4, 1907.

You'll find that the highest tax you pay is on your own darn foolishness.

---Madisonville Democrat, Madisonville, Tenn., March 29, 1950.

Incredulity is the wit of fools.

---Ohio Farmer, Cleveland, Ohio, March 30, 1867.

A fool always boasts of what he is going to do, but an old hen always lays the egg before she

cackles.

---Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe, N.M., Oct. 5, 1916.

A fool empties his head every time he opens his mouth.

---Taylor County News, Abilene, Texas, July 27, 1894.

When a fool gets angry he furnishes the proof of his foolishness.

---Weekly Oil Review, Sisterville, W. Va., March 16, 1910.