The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1905-01-30
A CHAPTER ON FOOLS.
There are Various Kinds and some
of Them Are Not Without
Their Uses.


Into the clever foop' class come two
very rare and superior kinds. One
may live a lifetime and not encounter
more than one Of each. But they do
exist, says the London Spectator. We
mean the learned fool and the fool of
culure. The learned fool is a fact
gluLtCn," If We may be allowed the ex-
precision. He has more appetite for
knowledge than power TO assimilate il.
kept IN his place be is useful as a kind
of index TO other men; but once let
him get what Scotch people call "above'
himself" and he viii begin TO use his
facts as missiles and become a great
Intellectual danger. The cultivated
fool has lived in the dollhouse atmos-
phere OF a highly cultivated clique till
he literally smells of culture; but the
source Of the aroma is not in his own
mind. and ii put out to air among Phil
istines for a sufficient period he viii
lose all traces Of his much priced arti-
iciality. II is a great bore to be
obliged TO observe for any length of
time the antics Of this type Of fool;
but they are amusing sometimes to
tell about.
Very few silly fools" afford any
pleasure to the spectator. Yet out OF
two types Of them soma dangerous en-
tertainment may be derived. The first
of these two is a pretty woman-an
inhabitant. perhaps. of the fool ire
quented fair Of Vanity" But she may
thrive anywhere in any station. AS
rule. she is not such a fool as she
looks, and her mind Is capable Of some
expansion. at least IN one direction.
the direction Of self-interest. The man
made TO match her Is generally aware
that folly is mis- most remarkable quail
ity. and as he likes to be remarkable
for anything. he exaggerates il all he
can. Did he omit TO act in an inenably
silly manner no one would notice his
actions at all. Those who ENJOY the
sight of his folly are to a great extent
responsible for him. and as he is an
entirely useless member of society. the
responsibility is pretty heavy.
AS TO the fool OF fiction, the only
fear about enjoying him is that we
should come to imagine that he really
exists. The greater number Of ficti-
tiOus fools are in French books. The
fool Of the French author is a puppet
made Of a mixture Of saintliness. silH-
ness and sin. Generally he does not
know right from wrong, and he seldom
has any sense of duty. All his good
works are works OF supererogation.
He is capable Of self-sacrihce. and his
errors proceed from defect rather than
design. Not that he is deficient in the
ordinary. sense Of the word: indeed. he
is usually represented as having some
kind Of genius.
AS TO the fool who never knows his
own interest. he may be the most
charming or the most irritating of
people. but it is impossible in either
case to dislike him. In the least esti-
mable form he is no ones enemy but
his own" In his highest he is one of
the finest types which human nature
produces. The early Franeiscans
called themselves "the fools of the
world" and an epitaph on a priest Of
the fourteenth century QUOTED by
Doran in his Court Fools) invokes
heaven for this thy fool" We find
the expression. "a fool in the Court Of
God" used in 1909 in a laudatory sense.
Probably st. Pauls daring AID elo-
quent expression: I'VE are fools for
Christ's sake" threw this fanciful and
beautiful side meaning into the word.
The man who realizes mat the highest
wisdom is not to be measured by the
foot rule Of prudence is perhaps the
only fool whose folly may be enjoyed
without economy. and who all through
the ages has illustrated the old saying
that "a fool may learn a wise man
wit"