proverb · Words worth keeping
He knows enough who knows how to live and keep his own counsel.
He knows enough who knows how to live and keep his own counsel.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Practical understanding includes navigating daily life and choosing what to say or keep private. The saying values discretion without claiming that silence is always the wisest response.
What the words are saying
Knowing how to live is paired with keeping one’s own counsel. This gives knowledge an applied form: understanding a situation includes judging whether a remark is useful, timely or yours to share. Enough is praise of that competence, not a limit on learning or a rejection of other kinds of knowledge. A useful reading preserves the ability to seek help, ask questions and report harm. Discretion should serve a purpose rather than simply reduce how much a person speaks.
Everyday example
A volunteer avoids repeating a neighbour’s private circumstances in a public meeting but shares the information needed to arrange help with consent.
When to use it
Use it to discuss relevant speech and legitimate privacy in practical life.
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What it does not mean
Keeping counsel does not require concealing harm or foregoing help.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 5; French section, paragraph 105; source wording: Assez sait qui sait vivre et se taire.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.