A fool does best to keep his mouth shut.
Norse (Hávamál), Hávamál 27
The source
"A fool does best to keep his mouth shut." This Norse (Hávamál) is recorded in Hávamál 27. Translated from the original Old Norse by Spartan Surfers.
"Ósnotr maðr, er með aldir kemr, þat er bazt, at hann þegi"Original Old Norse, Hávamál 27. Old Norse: Hávamál, normalized text (Guðni Jónsson) via heimskringla.no; meaning checked against Bellows 1923.
Who said it
Proverbs of the world (Every age). Sayings from the Latin, Greek, Norse, Japanese, Chinese and more, each traced to an old source in its own language.
Questions
- Who said "A fool does best to keep his mouth shut."?
- Norse (Hávamál). Source: Hávamál 27.
- What is the original Old Norse?
- Ósnotr maðr, er með aldir kemr, þat er bazt, at hann þegi. Translated from the original Old Norse by Spartan Surfers.
Filed under Laconic.
Wear a line like it
Blot out the sun? Good. We'll fight in the shade.
Dienekes, Herodotus, Histories 7.226
from$46
With it or on it.
Spartan mother, Plutarch, Sayings of Spartan Women 241f
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Sword too short? Take one step closer.
Spartan mother, Plutarch, Sayings of Spartan Women, Anonymous 18 (241f)
from$46
They're close? Then so are we.
Leonidas, Plutarch, Sayings of Spartans, Leonidas 7 (225b)
from$46
More from Proverbs of the world
- Wealth dies. Kin die. You die too. A good name never dies.Hávamál 76
- One thing never dies: how the dead are judged.Hávamál 77
- A sleeping wolf rarely gets the meat. A sleeping man rarely wins.Hávamál 58
- Rise early. Sleep through the morning and much slips away. Drive is half the fortune.Hávamál 59
- Dodge every fight and you'll still grow old. Age gives no one peace.Hávamál 16
- People are each other's joy.Hávamál 47