--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He's a fool that marries, but he's a…" description: "\"He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold?\" — William Wycherley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg" --- # He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not… ![“He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold?” quote by William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg) > “He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold?” [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marrying a fool is foolish; marrying a wise wife can make a man a cuckold; wit in a wife serves only to expose a man's folly. **In simple terms:** Choosing a partner wisely avoids humiliation. Key Takeaway Seek partners who uplift, not undermine. Themes marriage wit humiliation Mood satirical cautionary Type dramatic philosophical When to use this quote - courtship - marital counseling - social satire Key Concepts social dynamics gender roles pride Questions to Reflect On - What makes a partner truly supportive? - How does wit affect relationships? A Different Perspective Cultural norms may differ on marital expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) ## Related quotes > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [“Tis my maxim, he's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/tis-my-maxim-he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-that-does/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [“...a fellow's a fool when he marries who don't go to work deliberately to study and understand his wife. Women are awfully understandable if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-hallowell-abbott/a-fellow-s-a-fool-when-he-marries-who-don-t-go-to-work-deliberately/) [Eleanor Hallowell Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-hallowell-abbott/) > [No man is so much a fool as not to have wit enough sometimes to be a knave; nor any so cunning a knave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-savile/no-man-is-so-much-a-fool-as-not-to-have-wit-enough-sometimes-to-be-a/) [George Savile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-savile/) > [Sometimes we meet a fool with wit, never one with discretion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/sometimes-we-meet-a-fool-with-wit-never-one-with-discretion/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Yet here I stand poor fool what more, not one wit wiser than before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/yet-here-i-stand-poor-fool-what-more-not-one-wit-wiser-than-before/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-beware-my-lord-of-jealousy-it-is-the-green-ey-d-monster-which-doth-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I date to marry. Not to fool around. So if I can't see it happening, sorry, but it's not happening. I don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-date-to-marry-not-to-fool-around-so-if-i-can-t-see-it-happening/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He should in humility have asked her why it was that he was naturally a cuckold, why two women of different temperaments and characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/he-should-in-humility-have-asked-her-why-it-was-that-he-was-naturally/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [“The zipless fuck is absolutely pure. It is free of ulterior motives. There is no power game . The man is not "taking" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-zipless-fuck-is-absolutely-pure-it-is-free-of-ulterior-motives/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“She had signed her own death-warrant. He kept telling himself over and over that he was not to blame, she had brought it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/she-had-signed-her-own-death-warrant-he-kept-telling-himself-over-and/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [To marry a fool is to be no fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/to-marry-a-fool-is-to-be-no-fool/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“I live by never saying what if?...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-forest/i-live-by-never-saying-what-if/) Lisa Forest > [“The man who has no wife is no cuckold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/the-man-who-has-no-wife-is-no-cuckold/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [Never, ladies, marry a fool. Any husband rather than a fool. With some other husband you may be unhappy, but with a fool you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/never-ladies-marry-a-fool-any-husband-rather-than-a-fool-with-some/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## More by William Wycherley > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Poetry in love is no more to be avoided than jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/poetry-in-love-is-no-more-to-be-avoided-than-jealousy/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Marrying to increase love is like gaming to become rich; alas, you only lose what little stock you had before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/marrying-to-increase-love-is-like-gaming-to-become-rich-alas-you-only/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Thy books should, like thy friends, not many be/Yet such wherein men may thy judgment see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/thy-books-should-like-thy-friends-not-many-be-yet-such-wherein-men/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Conversation augments pleasure and diminishes pain by our having shares in either; for silent woes are greatest, as silent satisfaction leas; since sometimes our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/conversation-augments-pleasure-and-diminishes-pain-by-our-having/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [As wit is too hard for power in council, so power is too hard for wit in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/as-wit-is-too-hard-for-power-in-council-so-power-is-too-hard-for-wit/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [A mistress should be like a little country retreat near the town, not to dwell in constantly, but only for a night and away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/a-mistress-should-be-like-a-little-country-retreat-near-the-town-not/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Go to your business, pleasure, whilst I go to my pleasure, business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/go-to-your-business-pleasure-whilst-i-go-to-my-pleasure-business/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Poets, like friends to whom you are in debt, you hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/poets-like-friends-to-whom-you-are-in-debt-you-hate/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [I love to be envied, and would not marry a wife that I alone could love; loving alone is as dull as eating alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/i-love-to-be-envied-and-would-not-marry-a-wife-that-i-alone-could/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Bluster, sputter, question, cavil; but be sure your argument be intricate enough to confound the court.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/bluster-sputter-question-cavil-but-be-sure-your-argument-be-intricate/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [A good name is seldom got by giving it oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/a-good-name-is-seldom-got-by-giving-it-oneself/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Charity and good-nature give a sanction to the most common actions; and pride and ill-nature make our best virtues despicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/charity-and-good-nature-give-a-sanction-to-the-most-common-actions/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Good fellowship and friendship are lasting, rational and manly pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/good-fellowship-and-friendship-are-lasting-rational-and-manly/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Grief is so far from retrieving a loss that it makes it greater; but the way to lessen it is by a comparison with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/grief-is-so-far-from-retrieving-a-loss-that-it-makes-it-greater-but/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) [Explore all 38 William Wycherley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) ## More Cuckold quotes > [“The man who has no wife is no cuckold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/the-man-who-has-no-wife-is-no-cuckold/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“I live by never saying what if?...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-forest/i-live-by-never-saying-what-if/) Lisa Forest > [“She had signed her own death-warrant. He kept telling himself over and over that he was not to blame, she had brought it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/she-had-signed-her-own-death-warrant-he-kept-telling-himself-over-and/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“The zipless fuck is absolutely pure. It is free of ulterior motives. There is no power game . The man is not "taking" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/the-zipless-fuck-is-absolutely-pure-it-is-free-of-ulterior-motives/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“He should in humility have asked her why it was that he was naturally a cuckold, why two women of different temperaments and characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/he-should-in-humility-have-asked-her-why-it-was-that-he-was-naturally/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-beware-my-lord-of-jealousy-it-is-the-green-ey-d-monster-which-doth-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 7 Cuckold quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but to make a man a cuckold?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Wycherley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-that-does-not-marry-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cuckold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-that-does-not-marry-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/william-wycherley-16994_fool_he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-grea_2033980.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He's a fool that marries, but he's a greater that does not marry a fool; what is wit in a wife good for, but…” — William Wycherley", "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": "William Wycherley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He's a fool that marries, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-that-does-not-marry-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-that-does-not-marry-a/#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 } } ] } ```