I thought this would be a good follow-up to yesterday's proverb. Even if spoken words do not leave a physical trace (verba volant), they can still form a lasting impression in people's minds. This proverb points out that a foolish person can make no better choice than to keep quiet, and perhaps be considered a wise man in the process.
An English variant that I have heard on this saying is, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." This is a more discouraging proposition, of course. The Latin saying lets the foolish person hope that he might even be considered a wise man if he can manage to keep his mouth shut.
The Latin saying actually comes from the Biblical Book of Proverbs, where the full form is Stultus quoque, si tacuerit, sapiens reputabitur, et si compresserit labia sua, intelligens, "The fool likewise, if he keeps quiet, will be thought a wise man, and if he would keep his mouth shut, he will be thought to be intelligent."
As you can see from the number of this proverb, it comes near the end of the Latin Via Proverbs book, because grammatically it is more challenging than most of the other proverbs in the book. Conditional sentences are never easy, and this one involves a future passive form (reputabitur), along with a future perfect, which you often find in conditional sentences - but not in many other constructions. If you are using Wheelock, this is a construction that is not covered until Chapter 33!
Meanwhile, in the spirit of making noise rather than keeping quiet, here is today's proverb read out loud:
3442. Stultus quoque, si tacuerit, sapiens reputabitur.
The number here is the number for this proverb in
If you are reading this via RSS: The Flash audio content is not syndicated via RSS; please visit the Latin Audio Proverbs blog to listen to the audio.
Keep up with the latest posts... Subscribe by Email. I also post a daily round-up of all the Bestiaria Latina blogs: fables, proverbs, crosswords, and audio.
