The knights questioned this answer, and begged him to expatiate upon it.
Saladin replied: to fools every fool appears wise because of his resemblance.
Therefore whoever appears most foolish to a fool, will be the wisest, because wisdom is the contrary of folly. To every fool wise men seem fools. Therefore to wise men fools seem truly foolish and full of doltishness. [[110]]
[1] Perhaps Saladin of Pavia is meant, a poet who lived about 1250. [↑]
XLI
A tale of Messer Polo Traversaro
Messer Polo Traversaro[1] came from Romagna, and was the greatest noble in all that land, and he ruled over almost all of it without opposition.
There were three very swaggering knights, and they held that in all Romagna there was no man worthy to sit with them as a fourth in company.