A Very Wise Man or a Jester?

I had an appointment in Stratford today, so took the opportunity to blip this lovely bronze statue which stands on a stone plinth in Henley Street, about 200 yards from Shakespeare's Birthplace.

The statue portrays the Jester ‘Touchstone’ from the play ‘As you like it.’ and the inscription is a quotation from that play, “The fool doth think he is wise but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”

About 10 yards from the statue is the building where I spent my first day at school aged 4 years old. Next door to the school is what used to be my Great Grandparents' house (now a shop selling prints and souvenirs). Four doors along from that house is what was previously my Grandparents' house and also their sweet shop (still lived in as a house now).

The bronze statue was donated to the town in 1994 by a chap who now owns a huge part of Stratford's buildings / trading estates / shopping centres / leisure facilities etc etc. I can remember my Mum telling me of that very same man, when he was a very little boy, going into their sweet shop, along with his brothers I think she said, and they were quite a humble family. He is now probably one of the wealthiest people in the area, and in becoming so, he has also created a huge number of jobs and facilities for the local people.

Judging by Shakespeare's quotation, I bet he knows himself to be a fool.