---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tragedy is not that the fool talks…"
description: "\"The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.\" — Vikrant Parsai"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg"
---

#  The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.

![“The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.” quote by Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg)

> “The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.”

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

## About This Quote

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

Listening to foolish speech empowers the speaker’s nonsense, making the audience complicit in spreading folly.

**In simple terms:** We enable fools by listening.

Key Takeaway

Choose silence over listening to nonsense.

Themes

communication responsibility critical thinking

Mood

frustrated reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- public debates
- media consumption
- personal conversations
- online forums

Key Concepts

social influence echo chamber

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you often hear without questioning?
- How can you protect yourself from harmful rhetoric?

A Different Perspective

Silence may also suppress valuable ideas.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/)

## Related quotes

> [“My friends thought I was crazy, but when your heart talks, you have to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lynn-steele/my-friends-thought-i-was-crazy-but-when-your-heart-talks-you-have-to/)

[Amy Lynn Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lynn-steele/)

> [“Money talks and I listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/money-talks-and-i-listen/)

[Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/)

> [Any time the president talks, you listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-nelson/any-time-the-president-talks-you-listen/)

[Ben Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-nelson/)

> [When a woman talks, listen by your ears. When she doesn't, listen by your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-woman-talks-listen-by-your-ears-when-she-doesn-t-listen-by/)

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

> [If you have no money then you are not worth listening to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-you-have-no-money-then-you-are-not-worth-listening-to/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [The best form of flattery is to master the art of listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-best-form-of-flattery-is-to-master-the-art-of-listening/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Another reason for unhappy marriage is that men cant fool their wives as they could their mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/another-reason-for-unhappy-marriage-is-that-men-cant-fool-their-wives/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [I tell you the world is full of fools and only fools call each other fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-tell-you-the-world-is-full-of-fools-and-only-fools-call-each-other/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Even if you are not asked anything, you just have to speak something to make someone believe that you are still a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/even-if-you-are-not-asked-anything-you-just-have-to-speak-something/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [“That's tragic, also unfortunate, and often illegal. More importantly, it's also unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/that-s-tragic-also-unfortunate-and-often-illegal-more-importantly-it/)

[Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/)

> [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/)

[Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/)

> [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

> [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/)

[Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/)

> [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

## More by Vikrant Parsai

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Bring up your children in the way you think other peoples children should go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/bring-up-your-children-in-the-way-you-think-other-peoples-children/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [A child who goes to school but learns nothing is like an anchor that is always in the sea yet doesnt learn to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-child-who-goes-to-school-but-learns-nothing-is-like-an-anchor-that/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [To follow good manners willingly is like paving the road and to tell somebody to follow them is like the road which is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-follow-good-manners-willingly-is-like-paving-the-road-and-to-tell/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [We must live not as we like, but as we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/we-must-live-not-as-we-like-but-as-we-can/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Man is so intelligent animal on earth that if he was empowered as much as God, he would start battling with him to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/man-is-so-intelligent-animal-on-earth-that-if-he-was-empowered-as/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Societies that are disciplined to get what they want become dangerous when they don't get what they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/societies-that-are-disciplined-to-get-what-they-want-become-dangerous/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [It is the thoughts that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-the-thoughts-that-matter/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [It is a bad well into which you have to pour water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/it-is-a-bad-well-into-which-you-have-to-pour-water/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [You can stop speaking to someone, but you cannot stop being related.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/you-can-stop-speaking-to-someone-but-you-cannot-stop-being-related/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Pay what you owe and youll know what youre worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/pay-what-you-owe-and-youll-know-what-youre-worth/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [He who has no house of his own is everywhere at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/he-who-has-no-house-of-his-own-is-everywhere-at-home/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

[Explore all 1,642 Vikrant Parsai quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vikrant Parsai"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-but-that-we-listen/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-but-that-we-listen/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/vikrant-parsai-70_communication_the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-b_585875.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The tragedy is not that the fool talks but that we listen.” — Vikrant Parsai",
                "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": "Vikrant Parsai",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The tragedy is not that the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-but-that-we-listen/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-tragedy-is-not-that-the-fool-talks-but-that-we-listen/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
