--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The foolish are like ripples on water…" description: "\"The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest ac..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg" --- # The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they… ![“The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest act is durable.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg) > “The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest act is durable.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Righteous deeds endure like stone carvings, while foolish acts fade like water ripples. **In simple terms:** Good actions last, bad ones disappear quickly. Key Takeaway Focus on lasting, virtuous actions. Themes virtue legacy impermanence Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal conduct - public service - historical legacy Key Concepts enduring impact ethical behavior memory reputation Questions to Reflect On - What actions today will be remembered? - How can fleeting deeds be made lasting? A Different Perspective The metaphor may not account for complex social memory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Righteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteous/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“The wise treat horniness like a hiccup; the foolish, like an asthma attack.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-wise-treat-horniness-like-a-hiccup-the-foolish-like-an-asthma/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“If you don't show, I'm likely to do something foolish, like throw myself at Aluc-”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/if-you-don-t-show-i-m-likely-to-do-something-foolish-like-throw/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [You act is like an Angel but You are foolish like a Devil..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-act-is-like-an-angel-but-you-are-foolish-like-a-devil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Pretend you are foolish to the foolish, and be yourself when you are alone or with others like you, because if you take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-gentlemen/pretend-you-are-foolish-to-the-foolish-and-be-yourself-when-you-are/) [A Gentlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-gentlemen/) > [“Folks called this place haunted, felt the emanations of an unspeakable act moving outward like ripples on water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gay/folks-called-this-place-haunted-felt-the-emanations-of-an-unspeakable/) [William Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gay/) > [“The plans we make are just ripples in the water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-tenzing/the-plans-we-make-are-just-ripples-in-the-water/) P.G. Tenzing > [“I'm not separate from this world, nor is this world separate from me; time had not taken hold of me yet and distances are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/au-ur-ava-lafsd-ttir/i-m-not-separate-from-this-world-nor-is-this-world-separate-from-me/) Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir > [I had no fear of the stream's perils, and I listened with the greatest contentment to the quiet slap of water on rocks, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/i-had-no-fear-of-the-stream-s-perils-and-i-listened-with-the-greatest/) [Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/) > [“Once thought is created it spans outward much like the ripples in a lake after tossing in a pebble. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-selden/chester-s-playing-filled-the-station-like-ripples-around-a-stone/) [George Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-selden/) > [Being happy is a revolutionary act; I think it spreads, like ripples in a pond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/being-happy-is-a-revolutionary-act-i-think-it-spreads-like-ripples-in/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [“It came to him that life moved in circles like the ripples radiating from a stone cast into a pool. . . Now he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chadwick/it-came-to-him-that-life-moved-in-circles-like-the-ripples-radiating/) [Elizabeth Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chadwick/) > [“I have hair that drifts like seaweed when I swim. I have eyes that shine like rock pools. My ears are like scallop shells.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/i-have-hair-that-drifts-like-seaweed-when-i-swim-i-have-eyes-that/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [“Maybe nothing ever happens once and is finished. Maybe happen is never once but like ripples maybe on water after the pebble sinks, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner-absalom-absalom/maybe-nothing-ever-happens-once-and-is-finished-maybe-happen-is-never/) William Faulkner - Absalom Absalom ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. Who so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/there-is-a-proper-measure-in-all-things-certain-limits-beyond-which/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Never despair while under the guidance and auspices of Teucer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/never-despair-while-under-the-guidance-and-auspices-of-teucer/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Alas, Postumus, the fleeting years slip by, nor will piety give any stay to wrinkles and pressing old age and untamable death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/alas-postumus-the-fleeting-years-slip-by-nor-will-piety-give-any-stay/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Explore all 1,000 Horace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## More Foolish quotes > [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. Wickedness is hurting people on purpose. I love what you are and who you are and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/it-isn-t-foolish-or-wicked-to-enjoy-wickedness-is-hurting-people-on/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I was so foolish to ever leave your side, Searching for what was right before my eyes. It was me who didn't realize, 'til…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmine-sullivan/i-was-so-foolish-to-ever-leave-your-side-searching-for-what-was-right/) [Jazmine Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmine-sullivan/) > [Regrets are just a way for the foolish and the guilty to pass the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gensoumaden-saiyuki/regrets-are-just-a-way-for-the-foolish-and-the-guilty-to-pass-the-time/) Gensoumaden Saiyuki > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/right-and-you-point-out-something-important-which-is-that-people-who/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Foolish tongues talke by the dozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/foolish-tongues-talke-by-the-dozen/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I have my good days and my bad days, but I don't have as much energy as I used to back when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/i-have-my-good-days-and-my-bad-days-but-i-don-t-have-as-much-energy/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) > [“I wish he were better at hailing taxis than I am; on the other hand, I realize that expectation is culturally conditioned, utterly foolish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/i-wish-he-were-better-at-hailing-taxis-than-i-am-on-the-other-hand-i/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Acknowledging foolishness is a very powerful and important experience. 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I gave all the individuals in the world cause to kneel down in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/am-i-foolish-and-insignificant-or-am-i-great-i-gave-all-the/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) Browse all 1,867 Foolish quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like carvings upon stone, For their smallest act is durable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Horace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-for-whatsoever-they-do-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foolish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-for-whatsoever-they-do-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/horace-172_foolish_the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-fo_1653251.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The foolish are like ripples on water, For whatsoever they do is quickly effaced; But the righteous are like…” — Horace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Horace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The foolish are like ripples on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-for-whatsoever-they-do-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-foolish-are-like-ripples-on-water-for-whatsoever-they-do-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```