Talk:Suffer fools gladly

Can you just say what it means, succinctly?
How about giving the meaning in one sentence. 71.139.172.99 (talk) 22:08, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

He did. He said it means you don't tolerate people you deem as stupid, although I would think that the meaning of "stupid" is rather subjective. I prefer the word "fool" because this implies that a person is not below average intelligence, just has no common sense. I don't suffer fools or bullies, but put me in a situation with someone who has subpar intelligence and is nonaggressive, and I would be more apt to coddle that person, not to put them down. On the other hand, if someone said to me (and he did), "I don't descend from no damned monkey," that is not someone I could, nor would, suffer gladly. The aggression would factor into the ignorance for me, and greatly so. Pookerella (talk) 19:17, 7 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Yes, but what did *Paul* mean? This article says it’s sarcastic.  Which bit?  Who is or is not a fool?  Are they supposed to be tolerated?  Correctrix (talk) 12:50, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Expansion to cover a number of other phrases in regard to fools?
I found the article interesting, but it held no wisdom regarding the issue of how one should respond to fools. Would it be acceptable to expand the article to other well-known or colloquial phrases that address the same issue? (The issue being-- what is a fool, and how do you treat him/her?) Mr. T's, "I pity the fool" comes to mind. And since someone attributed this phrase to Shakespeare instead of St. Paul, I was thinking about what Shakespeare might have to say about the issue. The closest he comes in Polonius' advice to Laertes in Hamlet is, "But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade." This seems to have the same sentiment as St. Paul's advice. Don't keep company with fools or suffer through their foolish ideas without either challenging them or leaving their company for the company of better men. Then again... I notice this article that credits the many fools in Shakespeare's plays. It is probably good advice to suffer them gladly since they have so much to teach and are often above the fray of hubris. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mthibode (talk • contribs) 14:32, 3 September 2016 (UTC)