proverb · Words worth keeping
Patience is the virtue of asses.
Patience is the virtue of asses.
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
Enduring every burden without question is not always a virtue. Distinguish useful patience from submission that allows an avoidable or harmful situation to continue.
What the words are saying
Calling patience the virtue of asses sharply challenges praise for passive endurance. The animal image can make a person ask whether they are waiting for a worthwhile purpose or simply accepting more than they should bear. Yet the wording is also unfair to patience itself: learning, cooperation and recovery often require it. A useful interpretation considers the reason for waiting, the available alternatives and the cost of continuing. The saying should support a decision about circumstances rather than insult someone whose choices are constrained or who needs time before they can act.
Everyday example
A volunteer raises an unreasonable workload for discussion instead of accepting each extra task solely to appear obliging.
When to use it
Use it to question praise for unexamined endurance.
What it does not mean
Do not shame someone who cannot safely change a situation. Patience can be wise when it serves a chosen purpose.
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 30; French section, paragraph 596; source wording: La patience est la vertu des ânes.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.