[Ads-l] Adage: Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

"The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs" has an entry for the following
adage with citations beginning in 1975.
Never argue with a fool; people might not know the difference.

I received a few requests to explore a version of the saying
attributed to Mark Twain:
Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/02/19/fool/

The Bible contains a thematically related passage in Proverbs 26:4 and 26:5: 3

[Begin excerpt]
Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.
Answer a fool as his folly deserves,
That he not be wise in his own eyes.
[End excerpt]

The Biblical passage seems to suggest that one should respond to a
fool although one should reply with care.

Deciding which statements fit into a family of adages is subjective.
Here are the first few instances that I included in the QI article.

1878: Don’t argue with a fool, or the listener will say there is a pair of you.
1878: Don’t argue with a fool or listeners will think there are two of you.
1896: Arguing with a fool shows that there are two.
1930: When you argue with a fool, he’s doing the same thing.
1930: When you argue with a fool be sure he isn’t similarly occupied.

Feedback and citations welcome,
Garson O'Toole

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