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
Gregory The Dialogist
AD 604
As in a house, when the door is shut, it is not known what members there are hidden within, so, generally speaking, if a fool holds his peace, it is hidden whether he is wise or foolish. This is only so, however, if no other works come to light that may speak the mind even of one who is silent. For this reason, the holy man, seeing that his friends were anxious to appear what they were not, charged them to hold their peace, so they might not appear what they were. And so it is said by Solomon, “Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise.” .
