proverb · Legacy record
Ask advice of your equals, help of your superiors.
Ask advice of your equals, help of your superiors.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Advice sought from equals and help from superiors divides assistance according to a social hierarchy. The saying imagines different roles for peers and powerful people.
What the words are saying
A critical reading does not make rank a guarantee of wisdom, willingness or entitlement to deference. Useful advice and support can come from many directions. A practical application asks who has relevant experience or resources without denying agency or dignity to people with less power.
Everyday example
Someone seeks relevant experience and practical resources wherever they are available, rather than selecting only by rank.
When to use it
Use it critically to examine advice, resources and hierarchy.
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What it does not mean
No competence guaranteed by rank or duty of submission is established.
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
Denmark
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
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 747; PDF page 69; collection label: Denmark
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Denmark