Fools Quote by William Congreve
““Of those few fools, who with ill stars are curst, Sure scribbling fools, called poets, fare the worst: For they're a sort of fools which fortune makes, And, after she has made them fools, forsakes. With Nature's oafs 'tis quite a different case, For Fortune favours all her idiot race. In her own nest the cuckoo eggs we find, Over which she broods to hatch the changeling kind: No portion for her own she has to spare, So much she dotes on her adopted care. Poets are bubbles, by the town drawn in, Suffered at first some trifling stakes to win: But what unequal hazards do they run! Each time they write they venture all they've won: The Squire that's buttered still, is sure to be undone. This author, heretofore, has found your favour, But pleads no merit from his past behaviour. To build on that might prove a vain presumption, Should grant to poets made admit resumption, And in Parnassus he must lose his seat, If that be found a forfeited estate.””
About This Quote
Source Play: The Old Bachelor, 1693
Poets are vulnerable to fickle fortune; they risk reputation and livelihood for their art.
In simple terms: Poets risk much for art.
Accept the risk of creation.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- publishing
- court patronage
- public criticism
- financial instability
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Can you balance artistic integrity with practical needs?
- What safeguards can protect creative work?
Poets may also find lasting fame despite early setbacks.