difficult quotation

[Ron Alphin]

Could someone please help me with the meaning of "Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God." Book V Chapter 4

[WJMS]

It may mean that men don't understand love yet but a higher being would. I am only in 7th grade and I am reading this book if I would like to now if you could answer my questions go to the thread that starts with the teacher.

[Ruqaya]

Could someone please help me with the meaning of "Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God." Book V Chapter 4
I have read this novel long time ago and I have also seen the movie; infect, I have seen the Egyptian movie too; but this was a long time ago. Trying to understand the abstract meaning of the sentence (not relating it to the context); I guess it means that God knows that the world will be full of injustice so he created love as a means of mercy in an unmerciful world. But, unfortunately, you'll find a lot of men (which applies on both males and females); misuse this mercy tool; so it becomes God's wisdom and men's foolishness.

[Wilfrido]

Hi. let me offer the following explanation: true love is not the output of shrewd financial calculations, which are readily done by an economically rational being seeking to maximise his(her) pleasure and well-being. True love, as literature and the Bilble shows us, is of a foolish nature. I speak of the Bible because the whole dramatic tension and ethic dilemmas are embedded in Christian religion, where only the man who knows himself to be foolish is on the path of wisdom. Check out this website
http://www.crossroad.to/HisWord/verses/topics/fool.htm

Was Myriel not the most foolish of men? He was. Otherwise he wouldn't have given up his life to serve others, even in the absence of reciprocity. Was Valjean not foolish? He was, because he never profited from the situation; he stuck to what he had to, according to his beliefs and conscience, which were shaped by his own experience.

Many more examples come across, which would occupy many more lines, not only in literature but also in life. All of them are fools, because they give up the world -the wealth, the power and the pleasure- to pursue some crazy ideal. Yet these men irradiate calm and strength to the point of showing us that something supernatural is in their side. It is not a something, it is a someone.

Love and foolishness, men and rationality, God and wisdom. We would need to go into it deeper. Let me just point you (if you are into some deeper philosophy) in this direction. From Plato to Augustine through Paul, it really makes things clear.
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=18437

Best wishes

[Shanardpinyard]

Some it up this way. God is what makes the flower grow toward the sun. It is what makes the heart beat with out you thinking. Man, we will give are life for a thought an idea. When you have choice between one and another there is always the middle way. It is the foolish way. The crazy way. The place were you will be criticized and called stupid. It can’t be dune, save your self. You may even die. Why? Because of love. The love of god. It is the whole god is my shepherded thing. The valley of darkness and so on. To go down that path you must be mad. Or you must be in love.

[Steaze_McGee]

I think it is that men, including women like Cosette, fall into love, it absorbs them without knowing why really. Hugo emphasizes this often and I think that love is a blessing given by God and is what makes God wise. He loves us and is his virtue, it is his base. Love is God.

[kiki1982]

I can't find it anywhere in my French version of the work... I looked at all possible books V and chapters IV, but nowhere it can be found. Bad translation... Is it maybe in the chapter where Cosette gets the little booklet off Marius, when he turns up in the garden and they kiss for the first time?

Anyway, about the quote:
I think, according to Victor Hugo's philosophy, it would mean that people are foolish enough to love, because love can hurt them severely. They let themselves be hurt like Jean Valjean who goes to look for Cosette's boyfriend although he's deadly jealous of him, because he loves her so. He needs to let her go, but doesn't want to, but does because he loves her infinitely. And, although humans tel each other that love hurts, they don't want to believe the others and always walk into the trap. Love is the wisdom of God because God is love but humans have to believe without seeing, whereas God knows he exists. Therefor we never know whether God exists and whether love exists where we believe it to be, but God knows. In Vistor Hugo's idea God equaled love.

Does this make sense???