---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This age thinks better of a gilded fool…"
description: "\"This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school.\" — Thomas Dekker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg"
---

#  This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a…

![“This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school.” quote by Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg)

> “This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school.”

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

## About This Quote

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

Society often values flashy appearances over humble wisdom.

**In simple terms:** People admire showy fools more than modest saints.

Key Takeaway

Value substance over style.

Themes

appearance wisdom social values humility recognition

Mood

critical reflective

Type

aphilosophical social commentary

When to use this quote

- fashion industry
- political campaigns
- social media
- education
- leadership

Key Concepts

cultural critique human nature

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you prioritize appearance or character?
- How does society reward superficiality?

A Different Perspective

People may still be swayed by charisma despite deeper insight.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Better Gilded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-gilded-4721078/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Gilded Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gilded-fool-4721077/) [Saint Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint-wisdom-4721079/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Thinks Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-better-833286/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [Even Coach K thinks he can be a better coach each and every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-ingram/even-coach-k-thinks-he-can-be-a-better-coach-each-and-every-day/)

[Brandon Ingram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-ingram/)

> [My wife thinks she's better than me at puzzles. I haven't given in on that one yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/my-wife-thinks-she-s-better-than-me-at-puzzles-i-haven-t-given-in-on/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

> [Every generation always thinks it was better before, and I think people have been saying this for probably thousands of years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/every-generation-always-thinks-it-was-better-before-and-i-think/)

[Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/)

> [Go out and face the world secure in the knowledge that everybody else thinks they are better looking than they are as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/go-out-and-face-the-world-secure-in-the-knowledge-that-everybody-else/)

[Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/)

> [My big brother still thinks he's a better singer than me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/my-big-brother-still-thinks-he-s-a-better-singer-than-me/)

[Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/)

> [“God is good to all of us. He knows what we need better than we do. And just because he thinks it is better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-spyri/god-is-good-to-all-of-us-he-knows-what-we-need-better-than-we-do-and/)

[Johanna Spyri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-spyri/)

> [Thinks it's better to be hated for being yourself are than loved for pretending to be someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thinks-it-s-better-to-be-hated-for-being-yourself-are-than-loved-for/)

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

> [Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/anyone-who-thinks-he-has-a-better-idea-of-what-s-good-for-people-than/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [Well, there are three things that the average man thinks he can do better than anybody else. Build a fire, run a hotel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-bridges/well-there-are-three-things-that-the-average-man-thinks-he-can-do/)

[Rocky Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-bridges/)

> [You know when you go into a room there's always somebody that thinks they're better than somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-ballas/you-know-when-you-go-into-a-room-there-s-always-somebody-that-thinks/)

[Shirley Ballas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-ballas/)

> [He is a very humble man, that thinks not himself better than some others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/he-is-a-very-humble-man-that-thinks-not-himself-better-than-some/)

[Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/)

> [“Parenting: Nobody really wants the job, but everybody thinks they can do better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lansky/parenting-nobody-really-wants-the-job-but-everybody-thinks-they-can/)

[Bruce Lansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lansky/)

> [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/)

[Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/)

## More by Thomas Dekker

> [This principle is old, but true as fate, Kings may love treason, but the traitor hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/this-principle-is-old-but-true-as-fate-kings-may-love-treason-but-the/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains; to approach my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/to-awaken-each-morning-with-a-smile-brightening-my-face-to-greet-the/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [We are ne'er like angels till our passion dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/we-are-ne-er-like-angels-till-our-passion-dies/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Smiles awake you when you rise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/golden-slumbers-kiss-your-eyes-smiles-awake-you-when-you-rise/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [“Long hair will make thee look dreafully to thine enemies, and manly to thy friends: it is, in peace, an ornament; in war, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/long-hair-will-make-thee-look-dreafully-to-thine-enemies-and-manly-to/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Arguments, like children, should be like the subject that begets them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/arguments-like-children-should-be-like-the-subject-that-begets-them/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Age is like love, it cannot be hid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/age-is-like-love-it-cannot-be-hid/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/sleep-is-that-golden-chain-that-ties-health-and-our-bodies-together/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [A mask of gold hides all deformities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/a-mask-of-gold-hides-all-deformities/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Cast away care, he that loves sorrow Lengthens not a day, nor can buy tomorrow; Money is trash, and he that will spend it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/cast-away-care-he-that-loves-sorrow-lengthens-not-a-day-nor-can-buy/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Honest labor bears a lovely face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/honest-labor-bears-a-lovely-face/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [What a heaven is love! O what a hell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/what-a-heaven-is-love-o-what-a-hell/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Surely man was not created to be an idle fellow; he was not set in this universal orchard to stand still as a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/surely-man-was-not-created-to-be-an-idle-fellow-he-was-not-set-in/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [“Do but consider what an excellent thing sleep is...that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together. Who complains of want? of wounds?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/do-but-consider-what-an-excellent-thing-sleep-is-that-golden-chain/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

> [Were there no women, men might live like gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/were-there-no-women-men-might-live-like-gods/)

[Thomas Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

[Explore all 19 Thomas Dekker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Dekker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool-than-of-a-threadbare-saint-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool-than-of-a-threadbare-saint-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/thomas-dekker-28647_age_this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool_1370967.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This age thinks better of a gilded fool Than of a threadbare saint in wisdom's school.” — Thomas Dekker",
                "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": "Thomas Dekker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dekker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "This age thinks better of a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool-than-of-a-threadbare-saint-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dekker/this-age-thinks-better-of-a-gilded-fool-than-of-a-threadbare-saint-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
