“In idle wishes fools supinely stay;
Be there a will, and wisdom finds a way.”

The Birth of Flattery, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "In idle wishes fools supinely stay; Be there a will, and wisdom finds a way." by George Crabbe?
George Crabbe photo
George Crabbe 20
English poet, surgeon, and clergyman 1754–1832

Related quotes

“Busy opinion is an idle fool.”

Act V, sc. iii.
'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1629-33?)

John Woolman photo

“I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and to commit my cause to God, not fearing to offend men, who take offence at the simplicity of truth, is the only way to remain unmoved at the sentiments of others.”

John Woolman (1720–1772) American Quaker preacher

Source: The Journal of John Woolman (1774), p. 36; as cited in: Ruth Marie Griffith (2008) American Religions: A Documentary History. p. 137

Piet Hein photo

“True wisdom knows
it must comprise
some nonsense
as a compromise,
lest fools should fail
to find it wise.”

Piet Hein (1905–1996) Danish puzzle designer, mathematician, author, poet

Lest Fools Should Fail
Grooks

Karel Zeman photo

“I'm on a journey to discover the beauty of the fairy tale and I want to stay on that path, trying to find better ways to capture it on film. And I have only one wish — to delight the eyes and heart of every child.”

Karel Zeman (1910–1989) Czech film director, artist and animator

Jsem na cestě objevování krásy pohádek, a tak na ní chci zůstat a hledat stále dokonalejší způsob jejich filmového vyprávění. Mám jedinou touhu — potěšit dětské oči a dětská srdce.
Quoted on the website of the Karel Zeman Museum in Prague (in English http://www.muzeumkarlazemana.cz/en/karel-zeman and Czech http://www.muzeumkarlazemana.cz/cz/karel-zeman).

Charles Spurgeon photo
Ovid photo

“Let the man who does not wish to be idle fall in love!”
Qui nolet fieri desidiosus, amet!

Ovid book Amores

Book I; ix, 46
Amores (Love Affairs)

Brad Paisley photo
Democritus photo

“Fools learn wisdom through misfortune.”

Democritus Ancient Greek philosopher, pupil of Leucippus, founder of the atomic theory

Source Book in Ancient Philosophy (1907), The Golden Sayings of Democritus

Witold Gombrowicz photo
Samuel Johnson photo

Related topics