Meaning & Analysis
Pleasant, flattering words or attractive but empty promises easily please and satisfy foolish or naive people.
Insights
Deception and Gullibility
The proverb serves as a metaphor for the dangers of gullibility, illustrating how insincere flattery and baseless promises are effective tools for deceiving and manipulating the unwary.
Superficiality vs. Substance
It draws a sharp distinction between appearance ('fair words') and reality (actions or true intentions), criticizing those who are satisfied with superficiality rather than demanding substantive proof.
The Power of Rhetoric
The proverb underscores the power of language as a tool of persuasion and control, showing how rhetoric can 'melt' resistance and create a false sense of security in those who lack critical judgment.
Historical and Literary Context
The proverb's prevalence in the 15th and 16th centuries, including Shakespeare's usage in 'Julius Caesar', highlights its relevance in a society rife with courtly intrigue and political maneuvering, where flattery was a potent tool for manipulation.
Social and Political Critique
This proverb serves as a timeless warning against charismatic but insincere leaders, suitors, or merchants, advocating for a healthy skepticism that prioritizes tangible actions over appealing but empty rhetoric.
Psychological Insight
The proverb astutely identifies the psychological vulnerability of wishful thinking. Fools are made 'fain' (glad) because they readily accept pleasant words that align with their desires, mistaking superficial charm for genuine substance.
Rhetorical Devices
Alliteration
The repetition of the 'f' sound in 'Fair', 'fools', and 'fain' creates a memorable, rhythmic quality that enhances the proverb's lasting impact.
Direct Causation
The proverb's structure establishes a direct and powerful cause-and-effect relationship, presenting the foolish pleasure derived from empty words as an undeniable outcome.
Antithesis
It creates a strong contrast between the 'fairness' of the words and the foolishness of the recipient, implicitly juxtaposing wisdom with naivety and substance with superficiality.
Transcription
Quotations
Fayre promese ofte makyth foollis fayne.
[maketh].
(Faire behestis).
Brynynge into fooles paradyse, or make fooles fayne.
Fair haichts [promises] maks foolls fain.
Fools with fair words are pleased.
Faire words make fooles faine.
A fair promise makes a fool merry.
Fair Words deceive Fools.
Fair heights makes fools fain.
*Glad.
Fair Words make Fools glad.
Faire words macks feauls faine.
(Fair Heights).
Fair Words please Fools.
Shakespeare Citations
That which melteth fools—I mean, sweet words.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.