On clever people

I just finished reading a comedy play that had a little discourse about clever people. So much has been said about cleverness. Even Jesus praised a dishonest manager for his shrewdness. (More on that on Wikipedia.)

But nothing can cut close enough to this:

...
Jack: Is that clever?
Algernon: It is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as any observation in civilised life should be.
Jack: I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.
Algernon: We have.
Jack: I should extremely like to meet them. What do they talk about?
Algernon: The fools? Oh! about the clever people, of course.
Jack: What fools!
...

It's from The Importance of Being Ernest (1895) by Oscar Wilde. If you decide to read it, you're in for a treat 😁