Quotes by Erasmus, Desiderius

Everybody hates a prodigy, detests an old head on young shoulders. >>

Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself. >>

What difference is there, do you think, between those in Plato's cave >>

Quotations about Fools and Foolishness

Don't approach a goat from the front, a horse from the back, or a fool >>

If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thi >>

Seek but provision of bread and wine, fools to flatter, and clothing f >>

In short, no association or alliance can be happy or stable without me. People can't long tolerate a ruler, nor can a master his servant, a maid her mistress, a teacher his pupil, a friend his friend nor a wife her husband, a landlord his tenant, a soldier his comrade nor a party-goer his companion, unless they sometimes have illusions about each other, make use of flattery, and have the sense to turn a blind eye and sweeten life for themselves with the honey of folly.

Erasmus, Desiderius