Original artwork, not a still
Journals, entry for Feb. 3, 1860
Any fool can make a rule And every fool will mind it.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Making a rule takes no special intelligence, the speaker argues, yet rules get obeyed by fools without question. The couplet mocks both the ease of laying down regulations and the unthinking compliance they attract, suggesting that authority and obedience alike can be exercised without any wisdom.
Context reviewed
