Up: Reservations about writing

Laus Stultitiae, Desiderius Erasmus

Do not write down your wisdom! (Erasmus' commentary on Ecclesiasticus' (Jesus Sirach) statement "Better is the man who hides his foolishness than the man who hides his wisdom".

63. ...What should one hide more carefully: valuable objects or worthless casual things? Why don't you say something? Even though you pretend stupidity, the Greek proverb answers in your place: "One puts the water jar at the door"; and one had better not disrespectfully wave this aside: it is a quotation of Aristotle, the god of our professors. Or is someone among you so foolish as to leave gold and jewels on the street? Truly not, isn't it? You will hide it in the inner chambers of your house, no, in the most concealed corners of your strongest cupboards, but the mud you will leave exposed outside your door. So if the valuable is hidden and the worthless is displayed, isn't it clear then that the wisdom he forbids to hide is lower than the foolishness that he orders to hide? Now hear his own testimony: "Better is the man who hides his foolishness than the man who hides his wisdom".