proverb · Legacy record
If you want to be revenged, hold your tongue.
If you want to be revenged, hold your tongue.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Holding the tongue in pursuit of revenge links silence with a retaliatory aim. It values restraint in what is said within that viewpoint.
What the words are saying
The precise reason silence is favoured is not given by the supplied gloss, which repeats the advice. A qualified explanation does not invent a tactic or present concealment as a proper way to harm someone. Silence may have different purposes, and necessary disclosure, support and accountability remain legitimate.
Everyday example
A reader notices the silence-and-retaliation link without treating it as a strategy or suppressing a valid report.
When to use it
Use it critically with the unresolved context and retaliatory viewpoint explicit.
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What it does not mean
No revenge method or requirement to conceal harm is established; the precise rationale remains uncertain.
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
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 915; PDF page 128
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.