proverb · Words worth keeping
If we do not hear reason she will one day make herself be heard.
If we do not hear reason she will one day make herself be heard.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Ignoring a sound reason may leave a person facing consequences that make it harder to dismiss. The personified reason warns against avoiding evidence, without proving that every unwelcome result validates someone’s earlier advice.
Example
After checking two confirmed bookings, a coordinator changes a plan that placed the same room in use by separate groups at the same hour.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Reason is given a voice that first can be ignored and later demands attention. The image suggests that a relevant constraint or overlooked fact may become evident through what happens next. A person might dismiss a clear scheduling conflict until the overlapping commitments can no longer be completed. The saying encourages examining a warning before circumstances force the issue. It does not establish that a speaker is right merely because they call their view reasonable, or that every difficulty is punishment for refusing advice. The useful response tests the reason itself and considers its implications, leaving space to question weak evidence and to revise when conditions change.
When to use it
Use it when a supported constraint is being ignored despite its relevance to the next action.
Keep in mind
A claim to reason needs evidence; later trouble does not automatically prove earlier advice correct.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English