proverb · Words worth keeping
Learned people distinguish the true from the false by sensible study, foolish people run after rumor.
Learned people distinguish the true from the false by sensible study, foolish people run after rumor.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Sensible study contrasted with pursuing rumour values evidence in distinguishing truth from falsehood. The saying gives inquiry priority over repetition.
What the words are saying
A responsible reading does not assign fixed intelligence or worth to the two groups described. Anyone can be misled, and a learned reputation does not guarantee a claim. The useful distinction concerns how a particular statement is checked and how uncertainty is acknowledged.
Everyday example
A reader compares a circulating story with available evidence before passing it on.
When to use it
Use this as an editorial reading of the source image, with its stated limits retained.
What it does not mean
Educational labels do not guarantee truth or determine human worth.
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 wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 325; PDF page 34; collection label: Tibet Province of China
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Tibet Province of China