Talk not much with a fool, and go not with him that hath no sense.
Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and thou shalt not be defiled with his sin.
Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be wearied out with his folly.
[tr. DRA (1899), 22:14-16]

Do not waste many words on a stupid man,
do not go near a dolt.
Beware of him, or he will give you trouble;
and will leave you soiled by contact with him.
Avoid him, and you will find rest
and not be exasperated by his folly.
[tr. JB (1966)]

Do not waste many words on the stupid,
do not go near a dolt.
Beware of him, or you will have trouble
and be soiled by contact with him;
keep away from him, and you will have peace of mind
and not be exasperated by his folly.
[tr. NJB (1985)]

Don't visit stupid people or spend a lot of time talking with them. Avoid them; then they can't contaminate you, and you can live in peace without being troubled or worn down by their foolishness.
[tr. GNT (1992 ed.)]

Don’t talk a lot with fools,
and don’t go to the unintelligent.
Be on guard against them
so that you don’t have trouble
and don’t get dirty
when they shake themselves off.
Stay away from them
and you will find rest,
and their senselessness
class="tab">won’t make you weary.[tr. CEB (2011)]

Do not talk much with senseless people
or visit unintelligent people.
Stay clear of them, or you may have trouble
and be spattered when they shake themselves off.
Avoid them and you will find rest,
and you will never be wearied by their lack of sense.
[tr. NRSV (2021 ed.)]

There is one that keepeth silence, and is found wise: and another by much babbling becometh hateful.
Some man holdeth his tongue, because he hath not to answer: and some keepeth silence, knowing his time.
wise man will hold his tongue till he see opportunity: but a babbler and a fool will regard no time.
[tr. KJV (1611)]

There is one that holdeth his peace, that is found wise: and there is another that is hateful, that is bold in speech.
There is one that holdeth his peace, because he knoweth not what to say: and there is another that holdeth his peace, knowing the proper time.
A wise man will hold his peace till he see opportunity: but a babbler, and a fool, will regard no time.
[tr. DRA (1899)]

There is the man who keeps quiet and is considered wise,
another incurs hatred for talking too much.
There is the man who keeps quiet, not knowing how to answer,
another keeps quiet, because he knows when to speak.
A wise man will keep quiet till the right moment,
but a garrulous fool will always misjudge it.
[tr. JB (1966); NJB (1985)]

There are people who are silent
and are found to be wise,
and there are those who are hated
because they talk a lot.
There are those who keep silent
because they have nothing to say
in response,
and there are those who keep silent
because they know the right time.
Wise people keep silent
until the proper moment,
but those who swagger and are senseless will miss the right moment.
[tr. CEB (2011)]

Some people keep silent and are found to be wise,
while others are detested for being talkative.
Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,
while others keep silent because they know when to speak.
The wise remain silent until the right moment,
but the arrogant and the fool miss the right moment.
[tr. NRSV (2021 ed.)]

He that does not see this is a fool; he that sees it, and proposes it, is disloyal.
[tr. Ker (Loeb) (1926)]

Anyone who does not see this is a fool; anyone who does and makes the proposal all the same is treacherous.
[tr. Manuwald (2007)]

Who does not see this is senseless; who sees and still approves is ungodly.
[E.g.]

To succeed perfectly well in the world, I have always seen that you have to appear mad while being wise.
[tr. Clark (2012)]

Gravity is the shield of fools.
[tr. Clark (2012), # 1637]

Solemnity is the shield of idiots.
[E.g.]

There are more fools than wise men, and even in the wise man himself there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902)]

There are more fools than wise men, and even in a wise man there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

There are more fools than wise people, and in wise people themselves there is more folly than wisdom.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Nature seems wisely to have provided that the Follies of Men shou'd pass away, but Books perpetuate them. A Fool ought to be satisfy'd with having teaz'd those who liv'd at the same Time with him: but he is for going further, and is resolved to plague the Generations to come he is resolv'd to make his Impertinence triumph over Oblivion, which he might have enjoy'd as well as his Grave: he will have Posterity know that such a one liv'd, and all future Ages be inform'd that he was a Fool.
[tr. Ozell (1736 ed.), Letter 64]

Nature seems to have provided, that the follies of men should be transient, but they by writing books render them permanent. A fool ought to content himself with having wearied those who lived with him: but he is for tormenting future generations; he is desirous that his folly should triumph over oblivion, which he ought to have enjoyed as well as his grave; he is desirous that posterity should be informed that he lived, and that it should be known for ever that he was a fool.
[tr. Floyd (1762)]

Nature has wisely provided that the follies of men should be ephemeral; but, unhappily, these very follies are immortalised in books. A fool ought to have been satisfied with boring all those who have lived with him; yet he insists on torturing future races; he is determined that his folly shall triumph over the oblivion in which he ought to have been able to find as much enjoyment as he does in his last slumber; he wishes posterity to know that he has lived, and remember forever that he was a fool.
[tr. Betts (1897)]

While nature seems wisely to have provided that the stupidities of men should be transient, books immortalize them. A fool should be content with boring everyone who has lived with him, but he further undertakes to torment future generations. He wants his folly to triumph over the oblivion which he should welcome like the sleep of the tomb; he wants to inform posterity that he has lived, and to have it forever remembered that he was a fool.
[tr. Healy (1964)]

Nature in her wisdom seems to have arranged for man's follies to be short-lived, and books render them immortal. A fool ought to be satisfied with having bored all his own contemporaries, but he also seeks to torment those as yet unborn; he wants his stupidity to triumph over oblivion, which he might, like the tomb, have enjoyed; but no, he wants posterity to be notified that he has lived, and he wants her to know, for all eternity, that he was an idiot.
[tr. Mauldon (2008), Letter 64]

Nature has so arranged things that the absurdities men say are passing things, but books give them immortal life. A fool ought to have been content to have annoyed those who live near him, but instead he wants the chance to torment future generations. He wants his absurdities to triumph over the complete oblivion that he really ought to have welcomed and enjoyed like a tomb. He wants posterity to be informed that he lived, and he wants it known for all time that he was a fool.
[tr. MacKenzie (2014), Letter 64]

One part of the world laughs at the other, and both laugh at their common folly.
[Flescher ed. (1685)]

One half of the world laughs at the other, and fools are they all.
[tr. Duff (1877)]

Half the world laughs at the other half, even though the lot are fools.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]

Half the world is laughing at the other half, and folly rules over all.
[tr. Maurer (1992)]

A learned Fool is more foolish than an ignorant Fool.
[tr. Clitandre (1739)]

A learned fool is more of a fool than an ignorant one.
[tr. Wall (1879), The Learned Women]

A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one.
[tr. Matthew (1890), The Blue-Stockings]

The learned fool is a far greater fool than the fool of ignorance.
[tr. Wormeley (1895), The Female Pedants]

A learned fool is a bigger fool than an ignorant one.
[tr. Waller (1903)]

There's no fool like a learned fool.
[tr. Page (1908)]

A learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant fool.
[tr. Marks (2018)]

It may be argued that every public idea, every accepted convention, is a piece of stupidity, for has it not commended itself to the greatest number?
[tr. Hutchinson (1902), "The Cynic's Breviary"]

One can be certain that every generally held idea, every received notion, will be an idiocy, because it has been able to appeal to a majority.
[In Botton, Status Anxiety (2004)]

It is likely that every public idea, every received convention, is folly, because the majority of men consented to it.
[Siniscalchi (1994)]

It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

• Quote Origin: Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt – Quote Investigator®
• Keep Your Mouth Shut And Appear Stupid Quote | Quotationize

Do not answer a fool in the terms of his folly for fear you grow like him yourself.
[JB (1966)]

If you answer a silly question, you are just as silly as the person who asked it.
[GNT (1976)]

Do not answer a fool in the terms of his folly for fear you grow like him yourself.
[NJB (1985)]

Don’t answer fools according to their folly,
or you will become like them yourself.
[CEB (2011)]

Do not answer fools according to their folly,
lest you be a fool yourself.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]

Do not answer a dullard in accord with his folly,
Else you will become like him.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]

One could say that there are no lucky or unfortunate accidents, because clever people know how to take advantage of bad ones, and the imprudent very often turn the most advantageous harm to themselves.

[On pourrait dire qu’il n’y a point d’heurcux ni de malheureux accidents, parce que les habiles gens savent profiter des mauvais, et que les imprudents tournent bien souvent à leur préjudice les plus avantageux.]

It may be affirm'd that either there are not any happy or unhappy accidents, or that all accidents are both happy and unhappy, inasmuch as the prudent know how to make their advantages of the bad, and the imprudent many times turn the most advantageous emergencies to their own prejudice.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶128]

There is no accident so exquisitely unfortunate, but wise Men will make some advantage of it; nor any so entirely fortunate, but Fools may turn it to their own prejudice.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶60]

No accidents are so unlucky, but that the prudent may draw some advantage from them: nor are there any so lucky, but what the imprudent may turn to their prejudice.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶8; [ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶58]

No accidents are so unlucky, but what the prudent may draw some advantages from; nor are there any so lucky, but what the imprudent may turn to their prejudice.
[ed. Carville (1835), ¶5]

There are no circumstances, however unfortunate, that clever people do not extract some advantage from; and none, however fortune, that the imprudent cannot turn to their own prejudice.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶60]

There are no accidents so unfortunate from which skillful men will not draw some advantage, nor so fortunate that foolish men will not turn them to their hurt.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871)]

A clever man reaps some benefit from the worst catastrophe, and a fool can turn even good luck to his disadvantage.
[tr. Heard (1917)]

No event is so disastrous that the adroit cannot derive some benefit from it, nor so auspicious that fools cannot turn it to their detriment.
[tr. Stevens (1939)]

There is no accident so disastrous that a clever man cannot derive some profit from it: nor any so fortunate that a fool cannot turn it to his disadvantage.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957)]

There are no experiences so disastrous that thoughtful men cannot derive some profit from them, nor so happy that the thoughtless cannot use them to their harm.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959)]

There are no accidents so unfortunate that clever men may not draw some advantage from them, nor so fortunate that imprudent men may not turn them to their own detriment.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]

For it is the property of Folly, to look upon other mens Failings, and to forget their own.
[tr. Wase (1643)]

For it is the peculiar characteristic of folly to discover the vices of others, forgetting its own.
[tr. Main (1824)]

For it is the peculiar characteristic of folly to perceive the vices of others, but to forget its own.
[tr. Yonge (1853)]

It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own.
[Source (1882)]

It is the property of folly to see the faults of others, to forget its own.
[tr. Peabody (1886)]

This is just how foolish people behave: they observe the faults of others and forget their own.
[tr. Graver (2002)]

It is a trait of fools to perceive the faults of others but not their own.

• “Men of perverse opinion do not know / The excellence of what is in their hands, / Till some one dash it from them.” [George Young (1888)]
• "Men of ill judgement oft ignore the good / That lies within their hands, till they have lost it."
• "For those who are base in judgement do not know the good they hold in their hands until they cast it off."