Thomas Jefferson

Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another?

American President

Winston Churchill

In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.

British Statesman

Isaac Asimov

Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.

American Scientist

H. L. Mencken

The most costly of all follies is to believe passionately in the palpably not true. It is the chief occupation of mankind.

American Writer

James A. Garfield

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.

Abraham Lincoln

It is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of my early life.

George Eliot

In the vain laughter of folly wisdom hears half its applause.

British Author

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

It's the height of folly to want to be the only wise one.

French Writer

Samuel Johnson

Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise.

English Writer

William Blake

The fool who persists in his folly will become wise.

English Poet

The word 'folly' often implies a negative judgment or disapproval of the action or belief.

Negative Connotation

'Folly' can be used for minor mistakes as well as serious errors in judgment.

Not Always Serious

What one person sees as 'folly' might be considered reasonable by someone else.

Subjective Term

'Folly' refers to both unwise actions taken and foolish ideas someone might have.

Actions and Ideas

Calling something a 'folly' usually expresses a personal opinion or perspective on the matter.

Often Personal

'Folly' can specifically describe an ornamental building which may look extravagant but lacks practical use.

Architectural Term

Follies are often projects of wealthy individuals and can represent indulgence or eccentric taste.

Indulgent Projects

Many follies are historical landmarks today, interesting for their unique style and the stories behind them.

Historical Interest

 suspended in a sunbeam. It's been said that astronomy's a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility

Why we need the...

 And there are a million reasons to fall in love with this its depth of poetics, its double entendres, its wax and gold, its humor, its proverbs that illuminate the wisdom and follies of life. But there's also this melodicism, a musicality built right in.

Meklit Hadero: The...

 but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardor which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice, or to corrupt the future tranquility of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly,

Why are we happy? Why...

 pursued with that passionate ardor which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice or to corrupt the future tranquillity of our minds either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly or by remorse for the horror of

The surprising science...

 What if each of us gave more to the world than we took from it? Everything would change. Now cynics might say that sounds too idealistic, but cynics don't create the future. And though I've learned the folly of unbridled optimism,

What it takes to make...

 his mommy to love him I think he'll be remembered as a man with ambition but ambition not tempered with a vision for people or for truth but ambition solely for oneself this is the folly of many many men and had it not been for

Being Joseph Pulitzer PIPE...

 so that we can reach Nirvana, an enlightened state of peace, clarity, wisdom, and compassion. The novelist Cao Xueqin illustrated this Buddhist sentiment that romantic love is folly in one of China's greatest classical novels,

Why do we love? A...

 it's folly, It's ignorance, it's superstition. Suppose it was intuition. Suppose it was the only way we could talk about what we knew, a fundamental, deep truth that this is not the last word. This is not the end of the story.

Is Humanity Smart Enough...

 world and it's getting worse but we also know economically that the solution to climate change is a driver of economic growth and a driver of jobs so so it would be real folly now to ignore the science of risk and to take

We need to green the...

 So it is folly to create an economy that makes a university diploma a necessary condition of dignified work and a decent life. Encouraging people to go to college is a good thing.

Folly

Negative Connotation

Not Always Serious

Subjective Term

Compare with

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