ProverbWisdomEnglish origin

Simon Noland, clown, is a better style and title than Humphrey Hadland, gent.

Meaning: A fool's honest name beats a gentleman's pretense; character matters more than titles.

Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.

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