To succeed in the world, it is much more necessary to possess the penetration to discern who is a fool, than to discover who is a clever man.
Source: In Webster's Electronic Quotebase, ed. Keith Mohler, 1994.
-- Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, (Feb 13 1754-1838), French statesman; He was minister of Foreign Affairs, 1797-99; opposed Lousiana Purchase, 1803.