proverb · Words worth keeping
A promise is a comfort for a fool.
A promise is a comfort for a fool.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A promise as comfort for a fool criticises reassurance accepted without sufficient basis. It questions relying on words before fulfilment is known.
What the words are saying
Fool is a disparaging label, not an assessment justified by trusting someone. The supplied distribution-of-sweets gloss adds an image absent from the wording. A responsible reading considers the evidence for an assurance without blaming a person deceived or denying the value of credible reassurance.
Everyday example
A reader asks what supports an assurance while refusing to label someone foolish for having trusted it.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine unsupported reassurance.
What it does not mean
Trust does not prove foolishness, and credible promises can provide legitimate comfort.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 968; PDF page 135
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.