Suffer fools gladlyis a well-known phrase in contemporary use, first coined bySaint Paulin hissecond letterto the Church atCorinth(chapter 11). The full verse of the original source of the idiom,2 Corinthians 11:19(KJV), reads "For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise."[1][2]TheNew International Versionstates "You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!"[3]
In its current usage, the meaning of the negative,notto suffer fools gladly, has been stated by the Cambridge Idiom Dictionary, second ed. (2006), as "to become angry with people you think are stupid".[4]
The full meaning of Paul's use of the term "fool" in the original passage is complex and subtle, and the term appears repeatedly in the Chapter to develop the author's theme; however, it appears clear that the intended meaning of the phrase was assarcasm,juxtaposing welcomes given to rival itinerant teachers in Corinth (branded as "false apostles... masquerading" in 2 Corinthians 11:13) with the Corinthians' possible rejection (non-welcome) of the message of this, his letter to them.[5][6]
As has been noted by Robert Fulford, a columnist fromThe National Postwho collected many instances of the phrase's late 20th and early 21st century usage, it generally appears in the negative, e.g., inobituarieswith a variety of connotations or as aclichéof intellectuals in reference to one another, frequently to explain or justify behavior that is cantankerous or ornery; the combined effect of these appearances is a broadening of meaning from the apparent original sarcasm of Saint Paul.[7]
Fulford goes on to note with some irony the ready use—the glad suffering—of fools by Shakespeare, who elevated their roles, admittedly non-Pauline,[5]throughout his literary corpus.
In his highly regarded earlyliterary biographyofCharles Dickens,G.K. Chestertoncommented on the interpretation of St. Paul's "suffer fools gladly":
There is an apostolic injunction to suffer fools gladly. We always lay the stress on the word "suffer", and interpret the passage as one urging resignation. It might be better, perhaps, to lay the stress upon the word “gladly”, and make our familiarity with fools a delight, and almost a dissipation. Nor is it necessary that our pleasure in fools (or at least in great and godlike fools) should be merely satiric or cruel. The great fool is he in whom we cannot tell which is the conscious and which the unconscious humour; we laugh with him and laugh at him at the same time.[8]
References
edit- ^"2 Corinthians 11:1–21 (King James Version)".Biblegateway.Retrieved2013-04-08.
- ^Lang, J. Stephen (2007-02-27),Everyday Biblical Literacy,p. 419,ISBN978-1-58297-460-6
- ^NIV2 Corinthians 11:19
- ^Press, C.U. (1998).Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Michael McCarthy, 1998: Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. Bukupedia. p. 144.Retrieved13 January2020.
- ^ab"Paul Unmasks His Opponents (2 Corinthians 11 – IVP New Testament Commentaries)".Biblegateway.Retrieved2013-04-08.
- ^Baker, William R. (September 1999),2 Corinthians,p. 397,ISBN978-0-89900-634-5
- ^"Suffering those who say" suffer fools gladly ", by Robert Fulford".Robertfulford. 2002-04-23.Retrieved2013-04-08.
- ^G. K. Chesterton (2007-09-05),Charles Dickens,pp. 131–2,ISBN978-1-84022-562-4
External links
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The dictionary definition ofsuffer fools gladlyat Wiktionary
