AN idiot may be the name given to the ordinary man, who consistently misinterprets what happens to him, what he does, or what
is brought about by others. He does this so completely plausibly
that—for himself and his peers—large areas of life and thought
seem logical and true.
An idiot of this kind was sent one day with a pitcher to a wise
man, to collect some wine.
On the way the idiot, through his own heedlessness, smashed the
jar against a rock.
“When he arrived at the house of the wise man, he presented him
with the handle of the pitcher, and said:
‘So-and-so sent you this pitcher, but a horrid stone stole it from
me.’
Amused and wishing to test his coherence, the wise man asked:
‘Since the pitcher is stolen, why do you offer me the handle?’
‘I am not such a fool as people say,’ the idiot told him, ‘and
therefore I have brought the handle to prove my story.’