The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool!
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Kipling contrasts women managing men, implying cleverness is required to handle foolishness while even the silly can handle cleverness.
- In plain terms
- It is easy to control a smart man but hard to control a fool.
- What can you take from it?
- Managing stupidity requires more intelligence than managing smartness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is harder to manage: intelligence or foolishness?
- Have you tried managing someone who refuses to learn?
Another view
It relies on gender stereotypes that may not hold universally.
More from Rudyard Kipling
It takes a great deal of Christianity to wipe out uncivilized Eastern instincts, such as falling in love at first sight.
Permalink to quote #15 Never praise a sister to a sister, in the hope of your compliments reaching the proper ears, and so preparing the way for you later on. Sisters are women first…
Permalink to quote #17 For frantic boast and foolish word, Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Permalink to quote #14
Related quotes
Let a fool be made serviceable according to his folly.
Joseph ConradJoseph Conrad quote #66 The true test of intelligence is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do
John HoltJohn Holt quote #1 Genius is the ability to look at things simply.
E. Lee SpenceE. Lee Spence quote #1