In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace.
Interpretation
Sometimes, it is wiser to appear foolish to maintain peace, as one can still understand the situation.
This quote suggests that in certain interactions, especially with those who underestimate us, it may be beneficial to feign ignorance or foolishness. By doing so, we can avoid conflict and maintain harmony while still being aware of the truths and dynamics at play. It speaks to the complexity of human interactions and the strategic wisdom required to navigate them gracefully.
In practice
In a meeting where a colleague is belittling others, you might quote this to remind everyone of the value of strategic humility.
In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn't perhaps completely whole, that something was left out.
Writers don't give prescriptions. They give headaches!
Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers. He should have known that the kingdom of God did not depend on large crowds. Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of fewness. Narrow is the way and few the number. To fill the Lord's holy temple with an idolatrous crowd clamoring for signs was a folly of everlasting consequence. Our Lord used the whip only once in His life - to drive the crowd away from His church.
It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have - otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.
Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.
An angry man is always a stupid man.
Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world. There was no choice but to be pioneers; no time to be beginners.
We learn humility through accepting humiliations cheerfully.
We have nothing to lose by trusting the infinite power of the Self, except the bondage of our own ignorance.
As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it. What happens here is a spiraling ascent, a process of growth in ever expanding circles around a steady center.
But what is so headstrong as youth? What so blind as inexperience?
No sanction can stand against ignited minds.
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