proverb · Words worth keeping
As good sit still as rise up and fall.
As good sit still as rise up and fall.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
An unsuccessful effort can seem no better than doing nothing. The saying voices that discouragement, while inviting a closer look at what an attempt may still teach.
What the words are saying
Rising and falling make action look like a pointless return to the starting place. This can describe a task undertaken without adequate preparation or a response to repeated failure. Yet an attempt may reveal useful information, and staying still can have costs of its own. A careful interpretation compares realistic options rather than declaring effort worthless whenever it does not immediately succeed.
Everyday example
After a failed trial, a team records what it learned before deciding whether to revise the approach or stop.
When to use it
Use it to discuss whether an effort has a useful purpose or lesson.
What it does not mean
An unsuccessful attempt can still be worthwhile; inaction is not automatically safer or better.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1445 · Sit still
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English