Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
All Commentaries on Proverbs 17:28 Go To Proverbs 17
John Cassian
AD 435
It falls to the intellect to discern the divisions and the outlines of questions, and understanding’s highest function is to know that you do not know. Hence it is said, “Wisdom will be credited to the fool who asks questions,” for although the questioner does not know the answer to his question, nonetheless, because he inquires prudently and comes to understand what he does not understand, this very thing—his having prudently acknowledged what he does not know—is credited to him as wisdom. .
