--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's better to be fooled than to be…" description: "\"“It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious - that the confidence trick is the work of man, but the want-of-confidence trick is the work of the dev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/e-m-forster-2-1148_confidence_it-s-better-to-be-fooled-than-to-be-susp_1941042.jpg" --- # It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious - that the… ![“It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious - that the confidence trick is the work of man, but the want-of-confidence trick is the work of the devil.” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/e-m-forster-2-1148_confidence_it-s-better-to-be-fooled-than-to-be-susp_1941042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/e-m-forster-2-1148_confidence_it-s-better-to-be-fooled-than-to-be-susp_1941042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/e-m-forster-2-1148_confidence_it-s-better-to-be-fooled-than-to-be-susp_1941042.jpg) > ““It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious - that the confidence trick is the work of man, but the want-of-confidence trick is the work of the devil.”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being deceived is preferable to being suspicious; human confidence tricks are human, but devilish tricks stem from lack of confidence. **In simple terms:** Better to be fooled than suspicious. Key Takeaway Guard against distrust. Themes trust deception confidence Mood cautious philosophical Type ethical psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - business negotiations - online interactions Key Concepts human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - When is suspicion justified? - How does confidence influence vulnerability to deception? A Different Perspective May ignore legitimate caution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ## Related quotes > [“You remember how he would trust strangers, and if they fooled him he would say: ‘It’s better to be fooled than to be suspicious’—that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-remember-how-he-would-trust-strangers-and-if-they-fooled-him-he/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/it-s-better-to-be-fooled-than-to-be-suspicious/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“It's better to be fooled a hundred times than never to look.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-horvath/it-s-better-to-be-fooled-a-hundred-times-than-never-to-look/) [Polly Horvath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polly-horvath/) > [People who believe in a divine creator, trying to live their lives in obedience to his supposed wishes and in expectation of a supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-smoker/people-who-believe-in-a-divine-creator-trying-to-live-their-lives-in/) [Barbara Smoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-smoker/) > [The notion of a universality of human experience is a confidence trick and the notion of a universality of female experience is a clever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/the-notion-of-a-universality-of-human-experience-is-a-confidence/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Now, if doctors were aware that medicine was not a science and that they were pulling what is undoubtedly the largest and most successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-coleman/now-if-doctors-were-aware-that-medicine-was-not-a-science-and-that/) Vernon Coleman > [Being funny, it turns out, is like being a bank. It's a confidence trick. As long as everyone believes in you, you are fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/being-funny-it-turns-out-is-like-being-a-bank-it-s-a-confidence-trick/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [A bank is a confidence trick. If you put up the right signs, the wizards of finance themselves will come in and ask you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/a-bank-is-a-confidence-trick-if-you-put-up-the-right-signs-the/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [The cosmetics industry has much to answer for. It's a multi-million- pound confidence trick based on giving women endless hope, courtesy of overpriced little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/the-cosmetics-industry-has-much-to-answer-for-it-s-a-multi-million/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [It’s such a confidence trick, writing a novel. 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I really just like to sit in my air-conditioned Rome painting studio surrounded by Medieval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kostabi/i-ve-gradually-fooled-myself-into-becoming-a-real-painter-i-really/) [Mark Kostabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kostabi/) > [The only one who didn't know was George Lucas. We kept it from him, because we wanted to see what his face looked like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/the-only-one-who-didn-t-know-was-george-lucas-we-kept-it-from-him/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I feel as though I've fooled the world into thinking I'm an adult and now they're letting me procreate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/i-feel-as-though-i-ve-fooled-the-world-into-thinking-i-m-an-adult-and/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Confidence quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Get to know yourself well enough to not only expect, but also control, your response to the unexpected challenges in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/get-to-know-yourself-well-enough-to-not-only-expect-but-also-control/) Senoraroy > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/) [Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I was very confident on the stage, and I stood out in a red gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-johnson/i-was-very-confident-on-the-stage-and-i-stood-out-in-a-red-gown/) [Nicole Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-johnson/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Browse all 11,290 Confidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's better to be fooled than to be suspicious - that the confidence trick is the work of man, but the want-of-confidence trick is the work of the devil.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.M. 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