Monday, June 19, 2017

proverbs - He that is silent, gathers stones



I came across the following proverb at this site.



He that is silent, gathers stones.



Can anyone explain its meaning?


Thanks in advance.



Answer



This proverb shares the same idea (but is put the other way around) with A barking dog never bites.


He that is silent gathers stones (I don't think a comma should be there) literally means "a person who is silent gathers stones", and quite possibly this person is going to attack someone else with these stones sooner or later. (The word stones here doesn't have to refer to real stones. It can be and quite possibly is used figuratively.)


Barking dogs don't bite; they just keep barking.

On the other hand, angry people who are silent are more dangerous. They may be plotting something.


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