proverb · Words worth keeping
Wit may be bought too dear.
Wit may be bought too dear.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A lesson gained through difficulty may cost more than its benefit justifies. The saying questions praising every painful experience as useful learning, rather than denying that experience can improve judgement.
Example
A hobby group discovers that an untested display design is unstable and uses a small prototype next time instead of treating the ruined materials as a desirable lesson.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Wit represents practical understanding, while bought too dear makes the price of obtaining it the issue. A person may learn from a mistake and still reasonably wish its consequences had been avoided. The proverb separates the value of a lesson from approval of the cost that produced it. It does not mean that all difficult learning is wasted or that a person should be blamed for what happened. A useful reading asks whether the same understanding could be gained through advice, preparation or a less costly trial. Learning from a consequence need not turn the consequence into something good or necessary.
When to use it
Use it when the value of a lesson is being used to excuse an avoidable cost.
Keep in mind
A useful lesson does not justify harm or make suffering necessary for understanding.
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