---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All things to all men only fools will…"
description: "\"All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits none but those that use it well.\" — John Stuart Blackie"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png"
---

#  All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits…

![“All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits none but those that use it well.” quote by John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png)

> “All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits none but those that use it well.”

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Only fools claim universal truths; truth benefits only those who use it wisely.

**In simple terms:** Truth is useful only when applied well.

Key Takeaway

Seek truth and apply it responsibly.

Themes

truth wisdom ethics

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- law
- journalism
- education
- business strategy

Key Concepts

philosophy political theory

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you discern useful truth?
- What responsibilities come with knowledge?

A Different Perspective

Truth can be misused for manipulation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/)

## Related quotes

> [All these non-singing, non-dancing, wish-I-had-me-some-clothes fools who tell me my albums suck. Why should I pay any attention to them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/all-these-non-singing-non-dancing-wish-i-had-me-some-clothes-fools/)

[Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/)

> [All men are fools, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-are-fools-if-truth-be-told-but-the-ones-in-motley-are-more/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“All men are fools, Your Majesty,” Matthew said swiftly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/all-men-are-fools-your-majesty-matthew-said-swiftly/)

[Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/)

> [Passion very often makes the wisest men fools, and very often too inspires the greatest fools with wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-very-often-makes-the-wisest-men-fools-and-very-often-too/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [The wise men were all fools, what to do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-wise-men-were-all-fools-what-to-do/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [A bad reader soon puts to flight both wise men and fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-bad-reader-soon-puts-to-flight-both-wise-men-and-fools/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [Young men think old men are fools; but old men know young men are fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/young-men-think-old-men-are-fools-but-old-men-know-young-men-are-fools/)

[George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/)

> [I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both; and I believe they both get paid in the end; but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/i-have-seen-wicked-men-and-fools-a-great-many-of-both-and-i-believe/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

> [Fools call wise men fools. A wise man never calls any man a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/fools-call-wise-men-fools-a-wise-man-never-calls-any-man-a-fool/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [“The weak point in the whole of Carlyle's case for aristocracy lies, indeed, in his most celebrated phrase. Carlyle said that men were mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-weak-point-in-the-whole-of-carlyle-s-case-for-aristocracy-lies/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [Martyrs have been sincere. And so have tyrants. Wise men have been sincere. And so have fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-haldeman-julius/martyrs-have-been-sincere-and-so-have-tyrants-wise-men-have-been/)

[E. Haldeman-Julius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-haldeman-julius/)

> [“This is love. Finally, he understood. This was what made sane men into fools.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/this-is-love-finally-he-understood-this-was-what-made-sane-men-into/)

[Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/)

> [“Sweet lady," said Florian, "all men are fools, and all men are knights, where women are concerned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/sweet-lady-said-florian-all-men-are-fools-and-all-men-are-knights/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

> [A lot of men wouldn't like being called a romantic. It's not macho enough.' Quite often men are fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-men-wouldn-t-like-being-called-a-romantic-it-s-not-macho/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“To give too much room to the latent feeling which is rather common in these days among the unappreciated, that because some remarkably successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/to-give-too-much-room-to-the-latent-feeling-which-is-rather-common-in/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

## More by John Stuart Blackie

> [Wine is the drink of the gods, milk the drink of babes, tea the drink of women, and water the drink of beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/wine-is-the-drink-of-the-gods-milk-the-drink-of-babes-tea-the-drink/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Rocking on a lazy billow With roaming eyes, Cushioned on a dreamy pillow, Thou art now wise. Wake the power within thee slumbering, Trim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/rocking-on-a-lazy-billow-with-roaming-eyes-cushioned-on-a-dreamy/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Creation is the production of order. What a simple, but, at the same time, comprehensive and pregnant principle is here! Plato could tell his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/creation-is-the-production-of-order-what-a-simple-but-at-the-same/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Wake the power within thee slumbering, trim the plot that's in thy keeping, thou wilt bless the task when reaping sweet labour's prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/wake-the-power-within-thee-slumbering-trim-the-plot-that-s-in-thy/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [All powers, all laws, are but the fair Embodied thoughts of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/all-powers-all-laws-are-but-the-fair-embodied-thoughts-of-god/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Converse with men makes sharp the glittering wit, But God to man doth speak in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/converse-with-men-makes-sharp-the-glittering-wit-but-god-to-man-doth/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Brahma is the great Creator, Life a mystic drama; Heaven, and Earth, and living Nature Are but masks of Brahma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/brahma-is-the-great-creator-life-a-mystic-drama-heaven-and-earth-and/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [The highest art is always the most religious; and the greatest artist is always a devout man. A scoffing Raphael or Michael Angelo is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/the-highest-art-is-always-the-most-religious-and-the-greatest-artist-2/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [A fair face without a fair soul is like a glass eye that shines and sees nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/a-fair-face-without-a-fair-soul-is-like-a-glass-eye-that-shines-and/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [The wise man of Miletus thus declared the first of things is water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/the-wise-man-of-miletus-thus-declared-the-first-of-things-is-water/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

> [Order is the law of all intelligible existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/order-is-the-law-of-all-intelligible-existence/)

[John Stuart Blackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

[Explore all 12 John Stuart Blackie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/)

## More All things quotes

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/)

[Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/)

> [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/)

[Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/)

> [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/)

[Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

James Nayler

> [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/)

[Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [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/)

> [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/)

[Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/)

> [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The U.S. Army has recently removed the cross from the insignia worn by chaplains. In its place is a sun with its rays, symbolizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/the-u-s-army-has-recently-removed-the-cross-from-the-insignia-worn-by/)

[Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/)

> [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/)

[Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/)

Browse all 2,486 All things quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits none but those that use it well.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Stuart Blackie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-tell-truth-profits-none-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "All things"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-tell-truth-profits-none-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f1/john-stuart-blackie-36821_all-things_all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-te_2221120.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All things to all men only fools will tell, Truth profits none but those that use it well.” — John Stuart Blackie",
                "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": "John Stuart Blackie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-blackie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All things to all men only...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-tell-truth-profits-none-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-blackie/all-things-to-all-men-only-fools-will-tell-truth-profits-none-but/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
