--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are very few so foolish that they…" description: "\"There are very few so foolish that they had not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.\" — Thomas Hobbes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg" --- # There are very few so foolish that they had not rather… ![“There are very few so foolish that they had not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.” quote by Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg) > “There are very few so foolish that they had not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.” [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑governance is preferable to external control. **In simple terms:** Prefer ruling self over being ruled. Key Takeaway Value personal autonomy. Themes politics freedom philosophy Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - community decisions - personal budgeting - career choices Key Concepts social contract individualism Questions to Reflect On - When is external guidance beneficial? - How do you ensure personal decisions serve the common good? A Different Perspective Self‑rule may ignore collective needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foolish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) [Foolish Govern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish-govern-4368368/) [Govern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/govern/) [Govern Governed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/govern-governed-4368369/) [Governed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governed/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [For there are very few so foolish who would not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/for-there-are-very-few-so-foolish-who-would-not-rather-govern/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [It is for men to choose whether they will govern themselves or be governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-for-men-to-choose-whether-they-will-govern-themselves-or-be/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [How can a thing possibly govern others when it cannot be governed itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/how-can-a-thing-possibly-govern-others-when-it-cannot-be-governed/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Let the people think they govern and they will be governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/let-the-people-think-they-govern-and-they-will-be-governed/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [When those who are governed do too little, those who govern can - and often will - do too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/when-those-who-are-governed-do-too-little-those-who-govern-can-and/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be governed by anybody else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/it-is-far-better-to-be-free-to-govern-or-misgovern-yourself-than-to/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It takes very little to govern good people. Very little. And bad people cant be governed at all. Or if they could I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/it-takes-very-little-to-govern-good-people-very-little-and-bad-people/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [A general presumption that Icings will govern well, is not a sufficient security to the People... those who subjected themselves to the will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-general-presumption-that-icings-will-govern-well-is-not-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-harrison/the-only-legitimate-right-to-govern-is-an-express-grant-of-power-from/) [William Henry Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-harrison/) > [I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/i-must-govern-the-clock-not-be-governed-by-it/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [Men can never escape being governed. Either they must govern themselves or they must submit to being governed by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/men-can-never-escape-being-governed-either-they-must-govern/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“It is far better to be free to govern or misgovern yourself than to be governed by anybody else. — Kwame Nkrumah”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/it-is-far-better-to-be-free-to-govern-or-misgovern-yourself-than-to-2/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [How could a state be governed, or protected in its foreign relations if every individual remained free to obey or not to obey the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/how-could-a-state-be-governed-or-protected-in-its-foreign-relations/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [This is called 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'; it is called the 'asylum of the oppressed,' and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wells-brown/this-is-called-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-it-is/) [William Wells Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wells-brown/) > [“Foolish man, what do you bemoan, and what do you fear? Wherever you look there is an end of evils. You see that yawning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/foolish-man-what-do-you-bemoan-and-what-do-you-fear-wherever-you-look/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Thomas Hobbes > [“Give an inch, he'll take an ell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/give-an-inch-he-ll-take-an-ell/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Do not that to another, which thou wouldst not have done to thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/do-not-that-to-another-which-thou-wouldst-not-have-done-to-thyself/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [For it is with the mysteries of our religion, as with wholesome pills for the sick, which swallowed whole, have the virtue to cure;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/for-it-is-with-the-mysteries-of-our-religion-as-with-wholesome-pills/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Intemperance is naturally punished with diseases; rashness, with mischance; injustice; with violence of enemies; pride, with ruin; cowardice, with oppression; and rebellion, with slaughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/intemperance-is-naturally-punished-with-diseases-rashness-with/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing; and as the judgment, so also the conscience, may be erroneous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/a-man-s-conscience-and-his-judgment-is-the-same-thing-and-as-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [He that is to govern a whole Nation , must read in himself, not this, or that particular man; but Mankind; which though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/he-that-is-to-govern-a-whole-nation-must-read-in-himself-not-this-or/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [If men are naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/if-men-are-naturally-in-a-state-of-war-why-do-they-always-carry-arms/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Let a man (as most men do) rate themselves as the highest Value they can; yet their true Value is no more than it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/let-a-man-as-most-men-do-rate-themselves-as-the-highest-value-they/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [A free man is he that, in those things which by his strength and wit he is able to do, is not hindered to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/a-free-man-is-he-that-in-those-things-which-by-his-strength-and-wit/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [“Covenants, without the sword, are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/covenants-without-the-sword-are-but-words-and-of-no-strength-to/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Fear of things invisible in the natural seed of that which everyone in himself calleth religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/fear-of-things-invisible-in-the-natural-seed-of-that-which-everyone/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Because silver and gold have their value from the matter itself, they have first this privilege, that the value of them cannot be altered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/because-silver-and-gold-have-their-value-from-the-matter-itself-they/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [What reason is there that he which laboreth much, and, sparing the fruits of his labor, consumeth little, should be more charged than he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/what-reason-is-there-that-he-which-laboreth-much-and-sparing-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [The cause of Sense, is the External Body, or Object, which presseth the organ proper to each Sense, either immediately, as in theTaste and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/the-cause-of-sense-is-the-external-body-or-object-which-presseth-the/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [The characters of man's heart, blotted and confounded as they are with dissembling, lying, counterfeiting, and erroneous doctrines, are legible only to him that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/the-characters-of-man-s-heart-blotted-and-confounded-as-they-are-with/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) [Explore all 285 Thomas Hobbes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) ## More Foolish quotes > [...it isn't foolish or wicked to enjoy. 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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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are very few so foolish that they had not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hobbes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they-had-not-rather-govern/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foolish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they-had-not-rather-govern/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/thomas-hobbes-1127_foolish_there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they_642472.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are very few so foolish that they had not rather govern themselves than be governed by others.” — Thomas Hobbes", "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 Hobbes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are very few so foolish...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they-had-not-rather-govern/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/there-are-very-few-so-foolish-that-they-had-not-rather-govern/#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 } } ] } ```