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Happy April Fool’s Day!
Although we have fun with this day, fools have historically been looked down upon. If there were another realm of beings I’m sure they would echo Puck’s line, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (from the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, c.1595-96) as they observe the shenanigans, both frivolous and not so frivolous, in which we mere mortals engage. It is interesting to note that . . .
Puck was not the first to characterize mortals as fools.
Seneca Lucius Annaeus, born about 4 BC, was a prolific Roman philosopher who could possibly hold that claim to fame. He became famous in rhetoric, philosophy, money-making, and imperial service. He was an advisor to Nero. Although wealthy, he preached indifference to material goods and invoked adherence to moral ideals and responsibility. Many of his writings survive and are still read today as they hold significance to many of the same issues faced in today’s culture. This note from Seneca to Lucilius, is from the collection Seneca, Volume IV, Epistles 1-65.
“What fools these mortals be! They allow the cheapest and most useless things, which can easily be replaced, to be charged in the reckoning, after they have acquired them; but they never regard themselves as in debt when they have received some of that precious commodity,—time! And yet time is the one loan which even a grateful recipient cannot repay.“
So should we attribute the quote to Seneca? Not so fast!
So should we attribute the quote to Seneca? Not so fast! Perhaps if we are to classify ourselves as fools we should look closer at what a fool actually is. The Merriam Webster definition states a fool is defined as:
1: a person lacking in judgment or prudence. 2a: a retainer formerly kept in great households to provide casual entertainment and commonly dressed in motley with cap, bells, and bauble. 2b: one who is victimized or made to appear foolish. 3a: a harmlessly deranged person or one lacking in common powers of understanding. 3b: one with a marked propensity or fondness for something. 4: a cold dessert of pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream or custard
I came across the term, The Proverbs Fool . . .
We know Seneca and Puck preceded Merriam and Webster, but that still does not grant them the absolute claim to fame of tagging mortals as fools. While researching this essay, I came across the term, The Proverbs Fool. Intrigued, I did what any researcher would do – I googled it. Lo and behold, there were pages of hits. Being a good former Southern Baptist Sword Drill Champion I knew there were many verses in Proverbs that referenced fools. The book of Proverbs may have begun to be compiled as early as 700 BC, well before the time of Seneca. We can’t be sure, but it is believed to have been added to until as late as 4 BC. Recognize that date? That’s when Seneca was born! As an adult philosopher he no doubt would have studied those writings. Perhaps they influenced his opinion of mankind as fools. When we read over many of these verses, it is pretty easy to conclude fools existed in ancient times. Some verses describing a Proverbs fool:
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. Proverbs1:7b Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:22c Fools hate knowledge. Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Proverbs 18:2 A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart. Proverbs 14:3a In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride. Proverbs 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Proverbs 15:2b The mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
Proverbs 15:14b The mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. Proverbs 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
Proverbs 10:21 Fools die for lack of wisdom. Proverbs 8:5 O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Proverbs 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. Proverbs 13:20b The companion of fools will be destroyed. Proverbs 12:16 A fool’s wrath is known at once. Proverbs 17:12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs, than a fool in his folly. Proverbs 23:9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. Proverbs 14:9a Fools mock at sin. Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him. Proverbs 27:3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the provocation of a fool is heavier than both.
How did we get to our present April Fool’s Day?
Like many customs, it is thought to be traced back to a pagan festival that took place in ancient Roman around the same time Seneca was philosophizing on the foolishness of mankind. A festival known as Hilaria was celebrated at the end of March by the cult-like followers of Cybele. Originally a Greek goddess, Cybele was known as the Great Mother, the mistress of wild nature, a healer who could both cure and cause disease, the goddess of fertility, and a protector in time of war. The festival involved people dressing up in disguises, mocking fellow citizens, performances of the Circus Maximus, playing jokes, and general merriment. More about April Fool’s Day. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/april-fools-day
Rate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of these statements on a scale of one to ten, with one indicating you strongly do NOT agree and ten meaning you strongly
DO agree.
____“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” ― Alexander Pope, An Essay On Criticism
____“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”― Winston S. Churchill
____“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
____“The person who writes for fools is always sure of a large audience.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer
____“Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.”― George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron)
____“A man who trusts everyone is a fool and a man who trusts no one is a fool. We are all fools if we live long enough.”― Robert Jordan, Winter’s Heart
____“The greatest fools are ofttimes more clever than the men who laugh at them.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords
____“The young people think the old people are fools — but the old people know the young people are fools.”― Agatha Christie, Murder at the Vicarage
____”To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.” Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents
____“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”― Bertrand Russell
____“Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools that don’t have brains enough to be honest.”― Benjamin Franklin
____“Everyone gets scared at times. It’s only the fools who won’t admit it.”― Jennifer A. Nielsen, The Runaway King
____“As time moves on the line will blur. It will no longer seem to be the simplicity of good versus evil, but good versus fools who think they are good.”― Criss Jami, Killosophy
Thanks to all the insightful authors who have written about fools and to Jeff Foxworthy for this format. Be honest – we’re are all fools at some time or the other. I will be the first to admit I’ve done most of these at some point in my life. Ouch!
You might be a fool if you . . . Always believe you are right . . . Pursue personal ease instead of challenge . . . Gossip . . . Reject learning and/or instruction . . . Expect everyone else to adapt to you . . . Always place blame on anyone but yourself . . . Hate being held accountable . . . Talk a lot . . . Don’t listen well . . . Won’t get help . . . Put your hope in money/material goods . . . Have little self-control . . . Meddle in others’ affairs . . . Are stubborn . . . Are stingy . . . Give unsolicited advice . . . Speak too much and too quickly without listening first.
Of course I couldn’t leave you without a few tunes:
I’m a Fool to Want You Frank Sinatra
What Kind of Fool Barbara Streisand and Barry Gibb
Why do Fools Fall in Love Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You Elvis Presley
Fools Rush In Ricky Nelson
The Fool on the Hill The Beatles
