Not suffer fools gladly

As a general rule, no one tolerates fools and, ethically speaking, this general rule might not appear to be very Christian. The source, nonetheless, is the New Testament. It was coined by St Paul in Corinthians II, 11:19, “For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves as wise.” At first glance, it appears that Paul is saying it is wise to suffer fools but as he develops his theme in the rest of the chapter, it becomes obvious he is being sarcastic. As G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “It might be better, perhaps, to lay the stress upon the word ‘gladly.’” In other words, as a general rule, do not suffer fools, but when we do, do it gladly. Not suffering fools gladly has been a popular expression since the 1500s.