[Ads-l] Quote: The fool tries to convince me with his reasons; the wise man persuades me with my own

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The saying in the subject line is often attributed to Aristotle, and I
was asked to investigate its provenance. Ascriptions to Aristotle and
other ancient sages appear to be unsupported. The earliest citation I
found appeared in 1942. Here is a link to the QI article and the 1942
citation info.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/12/07/persuade/

[ref] 1942, The Psychology of Persuasive Speech by Robert T. Oliver
(Bucknell University), Chapter 1: The Problems of Persuasion, Quote
Page 9, Longmans, Green and Company, New York. (Verified with
hardcopy) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
An old proverb of uncertain origin states the essence of this point of
view in one sentence: “The fool tries to convince me with his reasons;
the wise man persuades me with my own.”
[End excerpt]

Earlier citations or other pertinent information would be welcome.
Thanks, Garson O’Toole

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