--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How do you know antiquity was foolish?…" description: "\"How do you know antiquity was foolish? How do you know the present is wise? Who made it foolish? Who made it wise?\" — Francois Rabelais" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/francois-rabelais-2038_antiquity_how-do-you-know-antiquity-was-foolish-ho_1538227.png" --- # How do you know antiquity was foolish? How do you know the… ![“How do you know antiquity was foolish? How do you know the present is wise? Who made it foolish? Who made it wise?” quote by Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/francois-rabelais-2038_antiquity_how-do-you-know-antiquity-was-foolish-ho_1538227.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/francois-rabelais-2038_antiquity_how-do-you-know-antiquity-was-foolish-ho_1538227.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caf/francois-rabelais-2038_antiquity_how-do-you-know-antiquity-was-foolish-ho_1538227.png) > “How do you know antiquity was foolish? How do you know the present is wise? Who made it foolish? Who made it wise?” [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges assumptions about past and present wisdom, urging skepticism about who defines folly or wisdom. **In simple terms:** Question the certainty of historical and current wisdom. Key Takeaway Critically examine claims of wisdom. Themes skepticism history philosophy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - media consumption - policy analysis - personal belief formation Key Concepts relativism epistemology authority Questions to Reflect On - Who decides what is wise? - How do we test historical judgments? A Different Perspective It may overlook genuine progress or enduring truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [“Call me not wise unless you call all men wise. A young fruit am I, still clinging to the branch and it was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/call-me-not-wise-unless-you-call-all-men-wise-a-young-fruit-am-i/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [Silence is foolish if we are wise, but wise if we are foolish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/silence-is-foolish-if-we-are-wise-but-wise-if-we-are-foolish/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“It is better to be foolish wise than wise foolish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-better-to-be-foolish-wise-than-wise-foolish/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm really, very foolish, I know of no one other than you. You're looking at someone else. Yet, you have no idea of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong-2/i-m-really-very-foolish-i-know-of-no-one-other-than-you-you-re/) Kim Hyun Joong > [“For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-4-22/for-my-people-are-foolish-they-know-me-not-they-are-stupid-children/) Jeremiah 4 22 > [If the wise knew everything the foolish know, there would be no fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-the-wise-knew-everything-the-foolish-know-there-would-be-no-fools/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [To succeed in the world we must look foolish but be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/to-succeed-in-the-world-we-must-look-foolish-but-be-wise/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [The least foolish is wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/the-least-foolish-is-wise/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“You have to be foolish to be wise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-campbell/you-have-to-be-foolish-to-be-wise/) Becky Campbell > [“I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise, Regardless of others, ever regardful of others, Maternal as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-of-old-and-young-of-the-foolish-as-much-as-the-wise-regardless-2/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Song of myself I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise, Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/song-of-myself-i-am-of-old-and-young-of-the-foolish-as-much-as-the/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In growing old, we become more foolish - and more wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/in-growing-old-we-become-more-foolish-and-more-wise/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“Now here is a riddle,” Melisandre said. “A clever fool and a foolish wise man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/now-here-is-a-riddle-melisandre-said-a-clever-fool-and-a-foolish-wise/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise, Regardless of others, ever regardful of others, Maternal as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-am-of-old-and-young-of-the-foolish-as-much-as-the-wise-regardless/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“Being a senior doesn't automatically make one wise but the wise & foolish alike have things to teach us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-lokos/being-a-senior-doesn-t-automatically-make-one-wise-but-the-wise/) [Allan Lokos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-lokos/) ## More by Francois Rabelais > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [If in your soil it takes, to heaven A thousand thousand thanks be given; And say with France, it goodly goes, Where the Pantagruelion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/if-in-your-soil-it-takes-to-heaven-a-thousand-thousand-thanks-be/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A child is not a vase to be filled, but a fire to be lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-child-is-not-a-vase-to-be-filled-but-a-fire-to-be-lit/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A certain jollity of mind, pickled in the scorn of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/a-certain-jollity-of-mind-pickled-in-the-scorn-of-fortune/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I do not drink more than a sponge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-do-not-drink-more-than-a-sponge/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [ I recognize in \[my readers\] a specific form and individual property, which our predecessors called Pantagruelism, by means of which they never take anything… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-recognize-in-my-readers-a-specific-form-and-individual-property/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Tell the truth and shame the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/tell-the-truth-and-shame-the-devil/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Half the world does not know how the other half lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/half-the-world-does-not-know-how-the-other-half-lives/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [But where are the snows of last year? That was the greatest concern of Villon, the Parisian poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/but-where-are-the-snows-of-last-year-that-was-the-greatest-concern-of/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [The Lord forbid that I should be out of debt, as if indeed I could not be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/the-lord-forbid-that-i-should-be-out-of-debt-as-if-indeed-i-could-not/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Science sans conscience n' est que le ruine de l'âme. Knowledge without conscience is but the ruine of the soule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/science-sans-conscience-n-est-que-le-ruine-de-l-me-knowledge-without/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [I've often heard it said, as the common proverb goes, that a fool can teach a wise man well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-ve-often-heard-it-said-as-the-common-proverb-goes-that-a-fool-can/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/one-falls-to-the-ground-in-trying-to-sit-on-two-stools/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Go, all of you poor people, in the name of God the Creator, and let him forever be your guide. And henceforth, do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/go-all-of-you-poor-people-in-the-name-of-god-the-creator-and-let-him/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) [Explore all 184 Francois Rabelais quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) ## More Antiquity quotes > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“Since antiquity, men have defined themselves by those who are excluded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robinson/since-antiquity-men-have-defined-themselves-by-those-who-are-excluded/) Jim Robinson > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [In antiquity there was only silence. In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born. Today, Noise triumphs and reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-russolo/in-antiquity-there-was-only-silence-in-the-nineteenth-century-with/) [Luigi Russolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-russolo/) > [Arles is certainly one of the most interesting towns I have ever seen, whether viewed as a place remarkable for the objects of antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arles-is-certainly-one-of-the-most-interesting-towns-i-have-ever-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established--the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/an-established-government-has-an-infinite-advantage-by-that-very/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Although Damascus is considered the oldest city in the world, the date of its foundation going beyond tradition, there are very few relics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/although-damascus-is-considered-the-oldest-city-in-the-world-the-date/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Educated and ambitious, with their own forthright opinions, the women of the Garvey set did more to determine political direction than many councillors. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius/educated-and-ambitious-with-their-own-forthright-opinions-the-women/) [A. H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) [Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How do you know antiquity was foolish? How do you know the present is wise? Who made it foolish? 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