“I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise.” — Montesquieu
“It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.” — Aeschylus
“All wisdom is folly that does not accommodate itself to the common ignorance.” — Montaigne
I have never been good at that- having far too little patience with stupidity. I need to work on that.
I suppose what those quotes are talking about is being sneaky; not standing out to attract negative attention so that- just maybe- people will listen to what you have to say.
It is all about "fitting in", which I have never been any good at.
When I was a teenager I went through a couple of spells where I wanted to fit it. It never succeeded for long. I would make a comment and have people looking at me as it I were an alien whose human mask had just fallen off. Usually the masquerade would end when someone would say "You're weird."
Come to think of it, some people still tell me that.
.
I suppose what those quotes are talking about is being sneaky; not standing out to attract negative attention so that- just maybe- people will listen to what you have to say.
It is all about "fitting in", which I have never been any good at.
When I was a teenager I went through a couple of spells where I wanted to fit it. It never succeeded for long. I would make a comment and have people looking at me as it I were an alien whose human mask had just fallen off. Usually the masquerade would end when someone would say "You're weird."
Come to think of it, some people still tell me that.
.