The wise fool, or the wisdom of the fool is a theme that seems to contradict itself in which the fool may have an attribute of wisdom. With probable beginnings early in the civilizing process, the concept developed during the Middle Ages when there was a rise of "civilizing" factors (such as the advent of certain practices of manners in Western Europe) and achieved its most pronounced state in the Renaissance. The wisdom of the fool occupies a place in opposition to that of learned knowledge.
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Famous quotes containing the words wise and/or fool:
“Even a wise judge is hard put to adjudicate family affairs.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Why should I play the Roman fool and die
On my own sword?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)